Slow Burn
by agibson76
Summary: Renesmee and Jacob have been married for 10 years and desperately want children. That problem, along with other real-life couple problems drives them apart. Will they be able to overcome?
1. Happy Anniversary?

I stood in the bright yellow room on the eastern side of the house. Two large antique dressers and a matching queen sized antique sleigh bed stood in the average-sized room. I had refinished them to match the other furniture in the room- a deep cherry finish. I loved the contrast of the dark wood next to the optimistic walls; it reminded me of the contrasts in myself. Dark hair, pale skin; dark, traditionally evil creature, light caring soul. Yellow and blue flowers covered the quilt. The room looked like it belonged in a home & garden magazine beside an article on Victorian style. Esme's style shown throughout. This was my bedroom.

I ran my fingers through the waves of my past-the-shoulder auburn hair and approached the shortest dresser; the one with my socks, underwear, and casual t-shirts. I looked into the mirror and twisted my lips to one side in thought. My face was that of a 19 year old girl. A few light brown freckles dotted my cheeks and nose. I felt that my face was plain and boring- nothing to be excited about. My eyes were a light brown color…the windows to my soul. That thought made me laugh, as my father didn't believe this…for certain reasons. I smiled at myself to see wrinkles appear under my eyes and around my mouth- I thought it was interesting to imagine myself wrinkled permanently.

I was conceived on my parent's honeymoon, and before long, I was born. The pregnancy was difficult on my mother to say the least, leaving her near death. My father used every ounce of strength and courage that he had to save her. That is how I came into existence and eventually ended up in Astoria, Oregon.

"Ness! Come on already," my mother, Bella called.

I left my room and headed toward the common room. "I don't know why we have to continue this stupid tradition. You don't make anyone else go through this," I answered as I entered the room filled with all of my family.

"You know exactly why we do this. It is a special time for you and we want to celebrate it," Alice countered.

Rose spoke up, "We love you, peach. Humor us. Don't spoil our fun."

I twisted my lips to the side and rolled my eyes. I took the seat at the head of the table and looked at the small cake sitting in front of me. It was anything but plain. Bright yellow flowers ran around the edges and colorful candles stood in the middle.

"Okay, I will behave, but _please_, don't sing." I begged.

Alice rolled her eyes, "Fine."

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NESSIE!!" the crowd crowed.

I blew out the candles, making a wish. The same wish I made each of my last twenty or more birthdays. I wished that I could start a family of my own. I searched around the room for the one person that I wanted to see; that could make this event…bearable. My one true love…Jake. He strolled in the back of the room towards me with a huge grin on his face.

"Jake!"

"Hey, Nessie." A smiled tugged at the corners of his mouth, more out of habit than love. "So what is the birthday wish this year?" My heart sunk at his last sentence.

Mom cut a slice of cake for me and Jacob…his piece was larger, of course. I stabbed it with my fork and shoved the bite into my mouth. There was nothing like chocolate and sugar to make me instantly feel better, for now anyway. All I wanted to do was get out of this room.

"Sweetie…what's wrong. What are you thinking about?" My mother had been looking at me and must have noticed the far away look in my eye. I looked up into her accepting and loving face. She had the same maternal look of Esme; the look that I envied.

I noticed Jasper's brows push together and a wave of serenity washed over me, pushing the frustration away.

"Oh…I was just thinking, you know, about…" I twisted my lips to the side, quickly thought of a lie, "…this cake. It's really good. You made it didn't you, Mom."

My mom looked to Dad out of the corner of her eye, disbelief etched on her face. The look on my Dad's face told me he knew the truth, but I trusted that he would keep this knowledge to himself for now.

She cleared her throat, prodding Dad for information. When he didn't reply, she looked at him head on. A smile spread across his face, keeping my thoughts secret.

"Edward?"

_Again with the motherly crap!_

"She is just trying to make sure you are happy, honey." Dad smiled lovingly at me.

"Why don't you open your presents now? I think you will really be surprised." Alice smiled raising an eyebrow. Of course, she already knew that I would be surprised, after nearly twenty years of trying, she had improved her ability to see my future. I was still fuzzy, according to her, but clearer than Jake.

"You know you guys don't have to do this…I have every _material _thing a girl could want." I plastered on a smiled, emphasizing the word material. What I wanted more than anything, no one could buy.

"What else do you expect us to do, we have to spoil someone" Rosalie said. She was like a second mother to me, as she was the only one who supported my mother's decision to have me.

I looked around at the loving family in front of me. I should be happy with what I have; parents who love me, aunts and uncles who would do anything for me, grandparents who respected me as an adult, and the most handsome half-wolf husband that a half-Vampire could ask for.

I tore open the red wrapped package, handing the paper to Mom who was waiting with a garbage bag. Inside was a large plain black tote with some books by a new author, munchies, and various travel supplies.

"What do you think?" chirped Alice. She pulled her perfectly red lips over her iridescent white teeth into a smile that would break any man's heart.

"I found those books a very interesting read…if you are into all that science fiction stuff." Jasper smiled and winked at my mother. "I heard that you have been reading the same things your mother was reading decades ago."

"I can't wait to jump into them…I was getting kind of tired of reading the same stories every few months. I love it…but…where are you sending me?" I questioned. "Why all the travel stuff?"

"You'll find out when you open your parent's gift," Emmett grinned. "I can't believe you haven't already guessed. There has been a lack of…noises coming from your room lately" A thunderous crack filled the room as Rose kicked Emmett in the shin.

"Here you go sweetie, I hope you enjoy it." Mom spoke quietly beside me. I hadn't heard her approach, and I started at her voice. "Sorry, didn't mean to alarm you."

I opened the box on my lap and found a set of plane ticket. I examined it closer and my eyes widened. "Is this for real?" I paused, waiting for a response.

Mom said nothing.

"I can't believe it! Jake! Guess where we are going!" I screamed, my face settling into an honest grin.

"Hmmm?" He asked nonchalantly. Mom shot a look that could kill in his direction, and then settled on the floor by her feet. Everyone's mouth hung open in disbelief. Things had certainly changed over the past ten years. No one met my gaze.

In my hand was a ticket that would eventually lead to Esme's Island. It was where my parents had gone on their honeymoon, a magical place by their standards.

"Mom…Dad…this…is amazing. I can't believe it. It's wonderful!" I jumped up and lunged at Mom, wrapping my arms around her neck. She took my face in her cold hands and smiled at me. Her dark eyes were an insane contrast to her unnaturally pale skin. _Mom needs to hunt._

"You deserve this. You _need _this." She leaned in and kissed my forehead. I refused to think about Jake's reaction…or lack there of.

"Thank you guys so much. I don't mean to duck out early, but I think I am going to just takes these to my room and then head out for a little bit."

"Okay honey, have fun." Mom smiled knowing that this was not my thing.

"Like mother, like daughter." Dad said in response to my thoughts.

I took my plate into the kitchen and sat it in the sink. I wandered back to my room and stared into the mirror again, twisting my lips from side to side. I pulled my hair into a high ponytail and traded my formal attire for my favorite faded t-shirt and jeans. I slipped on some comfortable shoes and headed toward the back door. It was still a little chilly here in these May evenings, so I shrugged on a light-weight jacket for show and stepped out the door.


	2. Liam

**Chapter Two**

The wind caught my hair and blew it around into my face. I closed the door behind me and stared into the encroaching forests. The deck on the side of the house was a story above the forest floor. Trees were so close to the house that you could reach out and touch them if you wanted, further hiding us from prying eyes. The upper level had glass walls on the South and East sides of the living room to allow natural light when the days were sunny. This level belonged solely to my parents, Jake, and myself. The rest of the family's rooms were in the lower level. There were four bathrooms, seven bedrooms, two living rooms, a kitchen/dining room, an attic for our worldly treasures, and a detached garage for the mass of vehicles. All in all, ours was the largest house in the town; fortunately, it was tucked away in the forest so we didn't draw much attention…that way anyhow. I opted to take deck stairs down to ground level and began treading towards the pier near 36th street. My pace was slow, even for a human.

As the sun was setting on the harbor, it gave a sepia appearance; like I was in an old movie. It was this time of day that I was saddest, the sun was setting on another day; another day that I was a daughter…a child in my family's eyes. I was shielded from the outside world. I was a 'gift' that made others jealous...at least that was the line that I heard over and over again. I understood that some wouldn't think twice about experimenting with me, but I knew that I wanted more out of life. We moved often, every five years or so, and I never really felt settled. I was a senior at Astoria High this year with Jake. My parents, aunts and uncles were "enrolled" in various colleges throughout the U.S. according to the official story; in reality they were just traveling the world.

I walked up the road that cut through the dense forest away from our house and towards the pier. It was not a long walk, less than a mile; in fact if I really wanted to I could probably have walked to the other side of town easily in human speed. The landscape changed dramatically as I exited the heavily wooded area where the large brown home stood, and made my way to the run down fishing town. Although the town was relatively small, there were opportunities for employment…even for a high school student like myself. I had taken a job as a historical tour guide.

At the pier, I leaned over the wooden railings and stared at the waves below. I couldn't wait to go to Esme's Island to try to rekindle things. It had been far too long since we had been intimate, either physically or emotionally. Our love for each other was realized thirteen years ago, and two years after that we were married in front of our strange little family of vampires and werewolves. After five years of marital bliss, Jake and I decided to try for a child. We had no idea whether I would be able to have a child, and if so, what the child would be. There was no precedence for a relationship like ours. This is where things went wrong for us.

When our family moved out of Washington State to our next temporary home, the werewolves no longer needed to exist as there were no vampires. Eventually, they stopped phasing and began to age again. All of Jake's former pack were married and had children, even Leah had finally imprinted. Sam, the oldest, was nearly forty now – Jake realized he would never age again and that one day his friends would die. Our relationship became strained initially, but he kept trying for the son or daughter that we so badly wanted.

After years of trying and…well…not succeeding, he gave up. He no longer wanted to hope that "this time" would be different, and our sex life ceased. He never would admit it, but I knew that he resented me…the vampire part of me wouldn't allow my body to change enough for pregnancy.

"Hi there," a voice wafted to me from the end of the pier. I had not even noticed anyone approach. _I really must be out of it. Should've paid more attention._

"Oh, hi," I looked up toward the voice. He stood with the setting sun at his back, blocking out his features from my enhanced vision. A breeze blew across the pier, blowing my hair into my face again.

"Ahhhh," the voice sighed, breathing in the air. I squinted trying to see his face. He must have noticed this and stepped into the shadow of the building. My eyes widened, assessing his unnatural pale skin, the blood red eyes, and his muscular frame. "I didn't realize there were others…like me…in town." He smiled widely showing his perfect ivory teeth and took a step closer. "Hm, but you are not like me are you?" His question was more of a statement than anything else. He knew that I was different. My eyes held color, I had a beating heart, and my vampire scent was mixed with human.

"Yes, my family and I have a permanent residence in town." I returned the smile. After the typical banter about how this was possible, I offered to explain things to him in detail.

"You know, I am intrigued. Perhaps at a later date; now I would like to get to know you better. I must admit, I approached you because of your heartbeat. I was hunting." He shamefully admitted, looking at the ground at his feet. "How does your heart beat, little vampire?"

"First of all, my name is Renesme; my family calls me Ness. As for your question, I am half-vampire, half-human. At the time of my conception, my mother was still human." His eyes widened. "After I was born, my father saved my Mom by changing her."

"Amazing" he breathed quietly. He stepped closer and reached out his hand to shake. "I am Liam. I am surprised to say this, but I am truly pleased to meet you."

I shook his hand with a smile. A bolt of electricity shot through me, and my eyes shot up to his face. I could tell by his expression that he had felt it too. Suddenly I wanted him. It had been too long since I had been with Jake. I wanted this…Liam. I wanted him bad.

"I am married." I whispered, whether to inform him or remind myself, I wasn't sure.

"What he doesn't know can't hurt him." Liam smiled a devilish grin. _How could I be thinking of cheating of Jake, my imprint? I love him…but…_He breathed into my face again, knocking the thought of my husband from my mind. I wanted to ask him questions of the world, I wanted to run my hands over his body, I wanted to feel him in every way. He grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the empty building on the pier. The wind blew across me again, pushing the lusty haze from in front of my eyes.

"I can't…it would hurt Jake too much." I whispered, not wanting to hurt my husband anymore than I had already.

He leaned into me to speak, "Think of yourself…I can tell that you have been putting yourself on the back burner. Enjoy life for once."

Again I wanted to do just that. I threw my arms around him breathing in his aroma as I gave myself over to him.


	3. Incubus

**Chapter 3**

Once inside the empty building, Liam threw me roughly down onto the floor. An involuntary gasp escaped my lips before he joined me.

"This should be fun," he smiled eagerly, "I have been with other full vampires and full…well, I have never been with a half-breed."

The way he spoke, sent shivers down my spine. Suddenly, I wasn't sure this was the best idea. _How did I let him talk me into this?_ "I am not so sure that this is a good idea…" I slowly sat up preparing to leave.

"Where do you think you are going?" he hissed in my face. I could smell the honey sweet smell of his breath again, sending the lusty haze back over me. "I don't want to have to force this, but I am not giving up the chance to go full force with a warm-blood." He breathed in my face again, making me dizzy. He was stronger and easily over took me. _No wonder I am so…interested in him. Carlisle talked about this, he warned me. I should have known my feelings were unreal!_

During the first few years of my life, Carlisle had taught me about the different types of supernatural beings that he knew of. One particular lesson that pertained to this situation played in my head as he knelt between my legs.

"_I am not sure how this affects you, but since you are half-human I think you should know about the incubus." Carlisle sat across the table from me laying books out in front of me as they pertained to the lesson. "You see, the incubus has an extra weapon in its arsenal…humans would say he is a sex addict._

"_An incubus' breath carries a scent like an aphrodisiac. It makes the human that he chooses desperately want to…err…be…um…physical. He has two options once things begin…he can choose to leave the woman alive so she carries his child, or he can go full force until she is so fatigued that she dies. In the first case, the child would either be inclined to the supernatural or have terrible defects. In the latter case, after her death he would feast on her blood._

"_An incubus can be any vampire that does not have a mate, but not every mate-less vampire IS an incubus," Carlisle explained._

I knew I should have paid better attention; there was no way that I would have ever cheated on Jake despite what had happened in the past. Even though our love was touchy, I still would go to the end of the earth for him.

I wanted to scream, but if someone found me and called the police, I could give away my secret. _Dad, please I need your help! _I screamed in my head. Alas, it was too late; the monster, for that is the only way to describe him, was already pumping inside me. I felt tears begin to stream down my face as the reality that I was...being...raped sank in.

I twisted my arm in his, to place my palm on him. I would try anything to get him to stop; I wouldn't just lay down and take it, I was going to fight. I showed him the way that he appeared to me, no reaction. I threw a vision of my father tracking him down and tearing him to pieces, at this he smiled.

"I always do enjoy a good fight." His venomous words dripped into my ear. I shook my head trying to dispel them. _Do I really want my family near this __**thing**__? _I didn't want them to be hurt.

"My family is _quite_ large, you would not survive," I whispered as confidently as possible given the circumstances. I would not ask them to avenge me, but I hoped to drive the terror into his bones – to make him fear for his…life, so to speak. I wanted him off me.

And suddenly he was. He flew off me towards the wall furthest from the door. His body slid down the wall into a crouch ready to pounce, as a deep growl escaped his pointed teeth. I forced myself to look at this _creature _with unclouded eyes. He was not so attractive; whether that was because of the sinister disposition that now oozed out in his personality, or perhaps the haze had clouded my eyes from his imperfect face.

His dark hair was unevenly trimmed, as if it were chewed or burned in places. His hands and face bore scratches. _Surely they couldn't be from a human…had he attacked other vampires the way that he attacked me?_ His nose was too broad, and his red eyes were too close together. It only took a millisecond to assess my attacker, and then I glanced around to see what had happened to throw him across the room, preparing to defend myself against another attacker.

"Dad!" I screamed out in relief for myself, and fear for him. Sobs burst from my body, shaking me to the core. I was angry that I had not been strong enough to save myself, I was pathetic – a burden to my family. I curled into a fetal position, unable to flee from the fight that took place in front of my face. I could hear the sound of two boulders, being my father and _that monster_, slamming into each other. I peeked up once to see my father rip the incubus' arms off. He obviously had the upper hand, his anger fueling him to fight harder. I didn't want to watch anymore, so I hid my face against my forearm, and in towards my chest.

The noise stopped and I felt a hand on my bare shoulder. I jumped involuntarily, even though I knew the scent as a comfort.

"Honey," Edward leaned to lay my torn clothes over my nude body. I felt so relieved that he was here, that the embarrassment was only beginning to seep its way in. He took off his large shirt and handed it to me. "Please put this on. We need to get out of here so I can…make sure…it's gone permanently." I could hear the anger in the last words that he spoke. I cringed, knowing how I had angered him, and pulled the shirt past my terror filled eyes and onto my stone arms. It was long enough to cover all private areas.

Edward leaned down and scooped me up. As we walked out the door, he threw a match in the direction of the gallons of stored marine fuel. He ran swiftly with my shaking body in his arms. I looked up once at his emotionless face and whispered, "Sorry."

He slowed and stopped once inside the safe confines of the forest. He sat me down in front of him, holding my shoulders firmly he began to speak. "Look at me." I felt another trickle of tears begin. I couldn't deal with his disappointment on top of everything else this evening. I was perfectly fine examining the flora of the forest floor. He reached down and lifted my chin to gaze into my eyes. His own eyes were firm, yet...loving. "I should be the one apologizing. I didn't hear your panicked thoughts because your Aunt Rose was going on about…well…it doesn't matter. There is no excuse. I should have been there sooner. This is not your fault, I read his mind…you were right, he was an incubus." At this he broke his eyes away from mine and stared through the trees towards the house. "We should go in now, while Jake is out."

I shuddered in a renewed fear. "Jake…" I murmured as the fear returned to my eyes._ He can't know!_

"He doesn't know, he wasn't there when I ran out," He reassured me. "Only your mother knows that something was wrong. I convinced her to stay for appearances sake."

We ran the rest of the way to the house and leapt onto the deck. My mother stood at the door, throwing it open as we reached it. She grabbed me into her arms, pulling me close.

"Let's get you changed," she glanced over my shoulder. "Quickly, I hear Jake approaching."


	4. What now?

**Chapter 4**

**A/N Obviously, I don't own Twilight Mrs. Meyers does... but oh well.**

Bella towed me to my room.

She handed me a pair of silk pajama pants and a camisole. "Why don't you take a shower and get cleaned up." She smiled sadly at me.

I retreated to the bathroom and commenced washing away Liam from my body. I scrubbed my skin roughly paying extra attention to the areas that he had touched me, attempting to remove the memory - to erase it from ever happening at all. I let the overly heated water beat against my granite skin before moving on to my hair. I scrubbed angrily again, and by the time I was done, I was short a few hundred hairs. I quickly dressed and toweled my hair before stepping back into my bedroom.

Bella took the brush in her hand to my hair, preparing it to be braided. Silent sobs shook through me, causing the bed to shake fretfully.

"Mom?" I whispered as I gasped in air, trying to satisfy my lungs. I felt like I had a corset squeezing me, only allowing a fraction of air necessary into my lungs.

"Yes, honey?" She peeked over my shoulder as she brushed her hand across my face. She smiled softly, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Am I really stupid, or what?" I cried throwing myself into her arms. _What have I done to my marriage…to Jake?_ I continued in my mind.

"Oh, Ness, sweetheart." Bella stroked my hair maternally. If the outside world saw us right now, they would never believe the fabrication that she was the Cullen's niece, making us completely unrelated. "You were conned, it happens to the best of us. That _thing_ had you under its control from the moment it was within arms reach. You did the best you could, in fact I am surprised by how much self-control you exhibited…Dad said that you tried to say no; and once you found out the truth, you refused to cooperate. That is simply impossible according to everything that both your father and I have read."

I leaned away, searching Bella's eyes for truth. _What does that mean?_ I internally questioned.

There was a knock on the door. I jumped involuntarily, and my eyes widened even though I knew the scent to be my father. "Ness, can I come in?" Edward whispered quickly.

I had composed myself enough to answer without my voice breaking into a million pieces. "Yes, Mom and I were just talking"

He cracked the door, just wide enough for him to slide through, then shut it behind him. "Jake is back, he's downstairs watching football with Emmett" Edward said quickly, being careful of his words, he knew that Jake could hear our conversation…if he wanted to. "How are we doing in here?" he said in an upbeat tone, clearly a façade, as his worried face didn't match.

I hesitated, picking my words, "I'm doing okay, thanks." I tried to smile to make the statement true, I was sure that it came out a grimace.

Edward stepped up to my ear and whispered so only Bella and I could hear, "You can do this, you have nothing to worry about. I'm sure Jake would want to comfort you…if you want to tell him. You know this isn't your fault. If you are still upset tomorrow on you way to Isle Esme, he is going to be curious…" he warned.

I had forgotten all about my trip. Early in the evening, I was so excited about going…possibly rekindling my marriage, but now I feared the time alone with Jake. _Can I hold myself together that long…can I pull this off?_ I asked Edward for his advice.

He answered my unasked question, "You are stronger than you know…you aren't just a pretty face." His confidence in me felt genuine, but I wasn't sure that it was warranted. Bella reached over and wrapped her arm around his waist. Their love was something that I envied often. They were equally selfless; neither was more at fault than the other about everyday decisions.

I heard Jake begin padding up the stairs. Either he was curious about our conversation, or he was tired. Probably the latter; hopefully the latter.

He popped his head through the door. His face was an enigma. His lips curved into a smile, but his eyes were angry…or sad. I wasn't sure. "Am I interrupting?"

"Of course not, Jacob" Bella answered his question, as if it were ridiculous. "We were just helping Renesmee pack her bags for your trip tomorrow." Then she turned to face me, "If you need our help anymore, just let us know. I'm sure that you will have a great time." She reassured me with a hug, Edward followed suit. They stood up, smiling at Jacob, then left.

"Hi, Jake" I couldn't meet his eyes…not yet. "Did you have a nice run earlier?" It took every fiber of my body to keep my voice from shaking, and my face from giving me away. I glanced in his direction, curious whether he suspected something.

"Uh…yeah. I just checked the game's score before I came up." He looked at his feet; he was hiding something.

_What aren't you telling me Jacob Black? _I narrowed my eyes, studying his behavior. _Does he know?_ "Something wrong, Jake?" I asked as nonchalant as possible.

"Uh…well…Ness," suddenly he looked up and his deep black eyes met mine. The electricity flew between us, just as strong as it ever was. He looked grief ridden and remorseful.

Worry flooded me, washing the former emotions back to the surface. I pulled my knees to my chest, squeezing myself into a ball to hold myself in one piece. I began gasping for air again as the sobs escaped. He had done something wrong…something bad, or he was getting ready to do something that made him sad. _He's going to tell me it's over, isn't he? I can't survive this tonight!_

Quickly, yet gracefully he sat himself next to me, then lifted my body onto his lap. "Sweet, sweet Nessie." His deep calming voice sang in my ear. "Calm down." I continued to fall apart, despite his words. He sat me down on the bed again observing the way that I sat. "Is this because of me?" He gestured to my position. "I remember when your Mom would do that…I hated Edward for making her feel weak. If I knew that I was doing the same to you…" His voice broke on the last sentence and he didn't finish his thought aloud.

"Just say whatever it is that you need to say. I will be fine." I snapped quickly, bracing myself for whatever he felt he had to do. I attempted to collect myself. I wanted this conversation to be over with. He cocked his head at my words and then chuckled. _He laughs at my pain!?_ "What is so funny?" I spat with venom in my voice.

"I just wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier. I thought that was why you were upset…" He trailed off.

"Oh" was all that I could manage. I had over-reacted. This explanation of his behavior made since, although it was unexpected.

"Emmett pulled me aside to tell me how I appeared, and how you reacted to my behavior. I can't believe what an idiot I am. I am…just…afraid, I guess." I pulled my brows into a frown of confusion. "I am afraid to...open myself up again. I want to be intimate with you without worrying that you will be upset if it doesn't end in pregnancy."

I pulled him into his arms, "You know how much I want a baby." I spoke softly. He nodded. "But more than that…I don't want to lose you. I don't want this problem to ruin us." I pulled his warm lips to mine. We gently lay back onto the bed. I would continue to hide my secret from him. No need to hurt him if I could avoid it. He was gentle, yet urgent, and when I told him I was not ready to be intimate with him…or anyone for that matter…he graciously settled for cuddling up next to me, warming my soul with the potential return of our intense love.


	5. Making Up? or Breaking Up

**A/N : You know the drill - I don't own Twilight or the characters - and all that Jazz.**

**Here you go my lucky little readers, another update. Happy Memorial Day! I screwed up my foot and can't walk, so I have all this extra time to update. Now, to show your appreciation, please review. Say it sucks, say you like it, anything really.**

**Chapter Five - Making up or breaking up.  
**

"Ladies and gentlemen, we will be touching down in…about fifteen minutes. I would like to thank all of you for flying with us today." The captain came over the intercom, signaling our approach to the airfield in Rio de Janeiro. I looked over at Jacob, his large body barely fit in the first class seat. He had slumped down in the seat so he could lean his head back and fall asleep. I loved him so much, but I couldn't help thinking of the how the night before had transpired.

* * *

It had been so long since Jake and I had been close. Since either of us were interested in spending the night doing other things than sleeping, and as much as I wanted to make him happy, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I felt dirty, like I was covered in a layer of grime. I told Jake that I was exhausted after the stress of the party to keep things from progressing too far for comfort.

He said he understood, "Like mother, like daughter…"

I excused myself to the bathroom adjacent to our bedroom. I wrenched the knob on the sink and began my nightly ritual,when I got lost in what could have happened tonight…what may still be happening. _Could he have gotten me pregnant? _I thought, but quickly pushed the thought from my mind. _After all these years of trying, it is just impossible…that…that…one miserable time…_ I found myself thinking again. I plopped myself down on the closed toilet seat and began thinking of the repercussions of that possibility. I could only hope that Edward was otherwise preoccupied with my mother, as he often was at this hour.

"Babe, you okay in there?" Jake's muffled voice cut through my thoughts and I realized that I still held the toothpaste tube. "You've been in there over an hour and a half…" he trailed off.

I could tell that he was frustrated. When we first started having problems, I would stand in the shower for hours on end, just so I wouldn't have to join him in our bed. Since he moved out of the room, I hadn't had to do it…_He must think that I don't want to be with him._ I needed to get over myself to be there for Jake, and when I thought about it, I was excited to spend a night in my true love's arms again. "Jake, I am so sorry…I was thinking about tomorrow and lost track of time, I'll be out," I promised him.

***

I reached over and gently took Jacob's hand. "Jake, sweetie, we're landing soon," I murmured quietly. I didn't want to startle him too much…that would have been very bad.

He pushed his elbows back against the seat and arched his back away from it. I heard two distinct pops. He vigorously shook his head side to side pushing the sleep away. Slowly he opened his eyes and releasing a massive yawn. He looked at me, blinking the sleepy haze out of his vision, and smiled. "Ness, sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep. Plane rides really do wear me out." He blushed as he quirked his lips into a embarrassed smile.

"Don't worry about it. I fell asleep too," I lied. I loved seeing a genuine smile on his warm, soft lips. A strong feeling came over me, and wanting nothing more than to allow it, I released myself to the desire completely. Suddenly my lips were pressed to his, a hunger that slowly burned through me, aching to have full reign over the situation. My hands involuntarily reached up, grabbing a thick chunk of his smooth hair. I pulled my body closer to his, until I was sitting on his lap. My body's need for my husband was greater than my brain's need for control.

"Mmmmm" A low moan came from deep inside Jacob's body. His body hungered for me as well, but his brain won out in the end. He pulled away, still holding me on his lap. "Ness," he sighed, "you really have horrible timing." He looked around the first class area as the other embarrassed passengers quickly turned their gaze away. "First, we are in a plane full of people." I looked around as well, a blush creeping onto my cheeks. "Second, we are about to land."

Just then, the plane touched down on the tarmac, jostling me in Jake's arms. "Oomph" I grunted, surprised.

We made it from the terminal and into a cab. Portuguese was a language that my father insisted that I learn, so I easily directed the cabbie to the marina that we would be departing from.

A few hours later we arrived at Isle Esme and made our way to the house. I put my bags down in the blue room that overlooked the sea. _Our own little paradise_ I thought. "Jake, would you mind it we went straight to bed?" I asked, embarrassed. I fidgeted my feet on the floor and fiddled with my finger nails. I didn't know if I could handle his rejection tonight. Even after all of the events of the day before, I wanted nothing more than to be with Jake, in the most primitive of ways. I needed to show myself that I was over everything that happened, and the only way that I could see myself doing that would be overriding the guilt...uh...I mean the uh...problem was to make love to the man I was married to.

Half of his mouth slid up into a smirk. "I would love nothing more." He winked at me, acknowledging that he wanted me too. I opened the bag that Alice had packed, knowing what would be inside, and retrieved a flimsy negligee before retreating to the bathroom for a "human minute".

I brushed my straight, white teeth, taking care to gargle. Excitement and anxiety bubbled over as I quickly undressed and redressed in the white, lace top and matching panties. I nearly took the door down, in my hurry to rejoin Jake. He looked me up and down and let out a low whistle. He pulled me onto his lap as he peppered kisses over my face and neck. "Jake...I love you" I moaned into his hair.

He pulled back and stared into my eyes. For a moment I thought he was going to reject me and I nearly began to cry when I was interrupted by his voice. "You know…our love is like a forest fire."

"How do you mean?" I questioned, slightly puzzled. _It destroys everything in it's path? It's really...hot? It lives in the forest?_ Okay, that one was a little ridiculous even for Jacob.

"Unlike most fires that burn brightly and quickly go out, ours is a slow burn. When the fire appears extinguished to everyone on the outside, in reality it is still warm to the touch, waiting to be reignited."

"Jake, you're a poet" I said immediately taken aback by his words that were very true.

He smiled sheepishly, "Actually, I kind of stole the line from a movie, but it seems that it is truer in our case than any other in history." I pulled him back into my arms, collapsing back onto the bed. I stared into his eyes, looking deep into his soul. I sent him an image of us the first time we came here, on our honeymoon.

_We were in the blue room nervously preparing for our first "encounter". Jacob carried me across the threshold before he retreated to the kitchen to grab our luggage. I stood in the bedroom alone, unmoving for a few minutes as I listened to Jacob padding back and forth across the floor. He was pacing. I stepped away from my spot and awkwardly sat on the edge of the bed. It dipped down slightly where I sat as I kicked my designer sandals off._

_"Uh..." I snapped my head up at the sound of Jacob's voice. He was toeing the threshold as he stared at his hands. "Here's your bag." His hand shot out towards me with the large duffel bag._

_I bit my lip, a trait that I picked up from my mother, and took the bag. "Thanks, sweetie." I smiled as our eyes finally met. "I think I'm going to take a nap." I began. The tension in the room was unimaginable, and I would do anything to get rid of it. Sex right away sounded like a good start. "Would you like to join me?" I asked as I began to unbutton my shirt. I thought his eyes were going to bug out of his head._

_"Uh...mmm..." He stammered as he ran a hand through his hair, a habit that he picked up from my father. "It's really hot in here? " It sounded more like a question. I stifled a giggle as I continued unbuttoning my blouse._

_"Maybe for you..." I burst into a full laugh as I threw my head back. This was Jacob I was talking to. We weren't awkward; we were blessed with skipping all of the wondering if the one liked the other one. I slipped my shirt off as Jacob's eyes shot directly to my chest. It wasn't the first time that we had done things with each other - never intercourse, but we had fooled around quite a bit. My father's gift had kept us from 'going all the way' before we were legally married._

_Jacob blushed a beautiful light pink as he began picking at something on his shirt. Perhaps now wasn't the time to be joking. "Actually, I was hoping that you would like to take a shower with me. You know to get the 'plane grime' off? But if you just want to take a nap, that's okay too." We were both so nervous with the new found freedom of marriage. I felt so guilty for laughing at him. _

_I dropped my head and closed my eyes so I wouldn't have to look at the pink lace bra covering my granite chest. "Jacob, that sounds perfect." I forced myself to look up into his face and found him staring at my chest again. I smirked. He had seen my chest plenty of times before. Along with mutual pleasuring and feeling each other up, we had partaken in showering together whenever we could. We never really did anything except wash each other; which, let's face it, is uber-erotic. I took one step closer to him and hooked my thumbs under the elastic of my shorts. I raised an eyebrow before I shimmied them off and kicked them in the direction of the bed without breaking my gaze on his face. __His eyes widened and his mouth fell open. __"You showering in that, Jake?" I reached out and pinched the shoulder of his t-shirt between my thumb and forefinger and plucked it._

_He blushed again before returning a smirk of his own. He grabbed either side of the neck of his t-shirt by his shoulders and ripped it off. He quickly unbuttoned his designer stonewashed jeans and slid them from his strong russet legs. We stood in front of each other in our undergarments. He was just as vulnerable and nervous as I was; it was unchartered territory for both of us. Feeling a jolt of confidence, I reached forward and ripped his forest green boxers off as I launched myself in the direction of the bathroom. "Where do you think you're going, runt?" He bellowed as he sprinted after me. I giggled as I removed my bra and threw it over my shoulder and into his face._

_"I suddenly feel VERY grimy!" I giggled as I rubbed my hands over my body and jumped into the shower. I threw the water on in the same second that I removed the pink lace panties that matched my bra.  
_

That was the best night of my life despite the awkward grunting on his part, and the inexperienced lack of movement on my part.

The Jacob of my present kissed my forehead as a tear fell from on of his large black eyes. He leaned back on his heels and grabbed the collar of his t-shirt before ripping it off. We both broke into a fit of giggles at the reinactment of that night so many years ago. I pulled his full lips to my own, feeling them give under my hard ungiving lips. His tongue ran across my bottom lip, begging entrance, which I readily granted. I pulled his bottom lip between my own and gently nibbled on it. After so many years of practice, I could do this without the overwhelming fear of killing him.

I moved my lips in synch with his own relishing in the long forgotten feeling of making out with my immortal husband. I moved from his lips to his square jaw and placed open-mouthed kisses to his ear. He moaned against my chest as he took my clothed nipple into his mouth. "Oh, Ness" He moaned as he bit down gently. I hissed at the feeling before releasing a moan of my own. "I need you now, baby." His voice was gruff and urgent. It _had _been far too long.

He urgently lifted my shirt over my head and began fumbling with the clasp on my bra. I shrugged out of the shoulders and began working on the button of his jeans. I released him from his denim and cotton prison and watch as little Jakey immediately shot up. An image of Liam between my legs popped into my head and I gasped. _No. I won't let him ruin this for me._ I pushed thoughts of him away and focused on Jacob's face. Luckily he had finally released me from bra at the same moment I gasped. He removed the last article of my clothing and he positioned him self and my wet core. "Jakey, I want you." I whispered willing it to be true. My body wanted him, but the fear that had taken hold in my brain was screaming at me to stop this.

He eased himself just inside of me. I closed my eyes. It was too soon. I felt my breathing pick up and my heart began to race wildly in my chest. Jacob pushed further into me. "Mmm...you are so tight, baby. Hot...wet." He mumbled as he began pumping in me.

I had to participate.

I didn't want to be doing this.

I wrapped my legs around his waist, positioning my heels over his buttocks. This position required the least amount of participation as my body would move as his did. I surpressed a sob as the act continued. I wrapped my arms around his loving neck.

I would tell him tomorrow. Tonight I would enjoy him for the last time. Tomorrow it would all be over. He would be gone from my life forever; I'll be damned if I didn't enjoy one last chance to make love with my soul mate. He brought his lips to my own as he felt the shift in my demeaner. I met every one of his thrusts with my own, and we quickly climaxed together. "That was..."

"AWEsome." I finished for him as I curled into the crook of his shoulder. "Jacob?"

"Yes, babe?"

"Things may have been bad in the past, but I never stopped loving you." I whispered into his neck before placing a kiss under his ear.

"Ditto" He replied. I felt his face pull up into a smile. "Goodnight, babe."

"Night, lovah." I replied in my best mock 'sex in the city' voice.

* * *

**A/N: Please review. I would love some feed back. I have written this story out already, but I am going through the chapters as I post them and updating them. Let me know if soemthing doesn't flow. This chapter used to end before the flashback.**


	6. Spring Break Nerves

**A/N: I went over this chapter a few times, adding this - deleting others. I hope that things mesh well. Please review and tell me what you think!**

**Chapter Six: Spring Break Nerves  
**

I looked over at Jacob's sleeping form. His dark chest with scatter hairs rose and fell slowly in rhythm with his deep breaths. It had been an hour since the end of our "act" of recommitment, and I still couldn't fall asleep. As soon as Jacob removed himself from me I was hit with the image of Liam being thrown from between my legs. I couldn't hold the tears in this time, but I managed to play them off as tears of joy over being with Jacob again. I pulled myself together long enough for him to fall asleep before I fell apart again.

I lifted my body from the soft bed as I gave up on trying to quiet my sobs and still my shaking body. The incubus had taken my reunion with my husband away after all, despite every effort on my part. I walked through the dark house and onto the moonlit beach. It was approximately midnight, give or take a few minutes, judging by the placement of the celestial view above.

I couldn't let myself become this vulnerable again around Jacob. I couldn't give him any reason to leave me; there was no doubt in my mind that if he did, I wouldn't make it to see the sun rise the day after he left. I couldn't tell him. Not yet.

I made my way down to the edge of the water and let it circle around my bare feet. Waves crashed against the shore in a rhythmic lullaby, and I quickly found myself yawning. I built the walls back up around my heart as my resolve to keep Jacob became solid. Unshed tears were locked into my tear ducts and unstable emotions were tied down to my stomach, never to be released.

I jogged back into the house and to the bedroom. I was completely unconscious in the same second that my head touched the pillow.

***

I threw myself in front of the human child, pushing him out of the way. I looked up to see the teeth of the incubus bared in my face. An instinctive growl erupted from my chest. The boy was just a child, and yet this monster wanted to drain him of his blood.

"He is just a boy!" I spoke through gritted teeth to the monster in front of me. "I won't let you have him!" I wrapped my body around the frame of the toddler. He wobbled, barely able to walk on his own.

"You can't keep him from me…you can't protect him forever you know." Liam spoke matter-of-factly. He raised an eyebrow and leaned back against a nearby tree. "I have nothing but time…" he continued.

I turned my face from the being in front of me to the scared boy that I protected. I didn't want to scare him with my aggression. It would be worse than bad if he attempted to run now. I relaxed my face and smiled softly, "Sweetie, where's your daddy?"

I could tell that the boy was afraid, he glanced down at his feet and pointed deeper into the forest.

"What were you doing way out here," I questioned. "There are more suitable places to hike," I trailed off. Why was I reprimanding this boy? It wasn't his fault.

He looked into my eyes and I into his. The sunlight glittered off his dark eyes and hair. He was wearing dark blue shorts and a white polo shirt. He was truly beautiful. "Daddy go hunt," he stammered. Clearly he wasn't speaking well yet either. I wanted to pull him to me and rock him back and forth, but I had to protect him first and foremost. "I don't wanna…I run away and change." He continued. Anger filled my vision. _What kind of low life just lets their kid wander off in the middle of no where!_

"What's wrong?" A voice came from a distance. It was a voice that I would now anywhere. Jake. _How did he know where I was? Couldn't he see the problem?_

"What. Does. It. Look. Like!?" I emphasized every word. _How could he be so dense?_

His voice was louder, he was closer…like he was right beside my ear. "Was it something I did? I just wake up and see you there gritting your teeth…" He trailed off. _What in the hell is he talking…_

My eyes fluttered open, pushing the dream back into my subconscious. Jacob was leaning over me. Worry painted his features, making him look older than his physical age, but still not his true age. I smiled to ease his fear, "Bad dream." I rolled my eyes.

"Wanna talk about it? Looked like you were pretty worked up over something…" He frowned again.

"Not particularly. It was ridiculous." I sighed as I flippantly waved my hand. "Imagination getting away from me."

"Okay…how about breakfast?" He smiled eagerly, "I made waffles."

We both eagerly ate before I set my plan into motion. I had to make sure that we didn't engage in any…uh…bedroom behavior during our trip. I had realized that I wasn't ready to be that intimate with him yet. Last nights fears problems solidified that.

"Since we went straight to bed last night, I was thinking we would head down to the beach and spend the day in the sun." I smiled as I took another bite of waffles.

"Sure. We'll hang out until lunch, and then maybe come back here for a break." Jacob winked to show that he intended to have an encore performance during the break. _No way, Jose._

"Actually, I was going to pack a cooler with sandwiches and snacks. I wanted to stay on the beach the _whole _day." I hope that he got the point. His smile faltered for a quick second. If I had blinked I would have missed it, but just as quickly it returned. It killed me to know that I was making him upset.

The day was relaxing. We spent the morning in the water, playing and watching the marine life. After our lunch, we built sand castles like little kids and buried each other in the sand. Together we molded a mermaid in the sand and took pictures posing with it. It had been ages since I laughed so much; since I felt so carefree.

I didn't know whether it had to do with Jacob, this magical island, or a combination of the two. I enjoyed this little place, so serene and set away from everyone. We had only been here one other time, and that time was cut short. Alice had a vision of me being seen, glittering in the sun, by a boat. She saw that within hours the place would be crowded with tourists, news cameras, and scientists wanting to get a look at the phenomenon.

This time would be different…no interruptions.

The next day I insisted that we head up the mountain and explore. Mom said that there were some truly amazing birds on the island when they visited on their honeymoon. I carried a pocket wildlife identification book and looked up the wildlife that inhabited this little paradise. We saw an albatross, a Brazilian ruby, and a few different species of parrots. My favorite animal was the masked titi monkey, and Jacob's was Brazilian porcupine.

When we got home I ran to the kitchen and began making dinner. I pulled a pound of chicken breasts from the refrigerator, four cobs of corn, and an arm pull of potatoes to slice and fry. "Jacob, why don't you shower while I start dinner?" I didn't want to risk the chance of him sneaking up and groping me. I wouldn't have a good reason to turn him down.

I heard the water running in the shower and exhaled the breath that I had been holding. It was Wednesday; only three more days that we would be in our fantasy land, and then I could go back to normal – or some version of it.

We discussed our days over dinner and planned which movie to watch before bed. My idea of course. He suggested Moulin Rouge (my favorite movie, that conveniently for him, always got me in the mood for some loving) and I countered with Behind Enemy Lines. There was no chance for romance with my choice, and he was floored that I would want to watch an action movie, so I won out in the end.

I fell asleep somewhere during the movie, and awoke the next day, having successfully held off Jacob's lust for another night. Thursday we took the boat into the city to do a little shopping. Unlike my mother I enjoyed shopping when I did go, but like my mother I hated shopping more often than necessary. It was fun once a month, but certainly not every other day.

The last time that we were in Rio, we missed out on the chance to do any shopping, so I made up for that fact by spending the entire day going from store to store. At the end of the day we boarded the boat with thirteen bags, several souvenirs for ourselves, three shirts for Jacob, several outfits for myself, and original dresses for each of the women in my family.

One more day down. The end of spring break was approaching; soon we would have to return home. I dreaded leaving for fear that our marital problems would resurface once we were away from this magical island. But at the same time I couldn't wait for that time to come so I wouldn't have to pretend so hard.

Jacob fell asleep during our nightly movie first this night, and I carried him in to our bedroom. He was already in a pair of sleep shorts in preparation for bed and I was wearing a red camisole and black running shorts. I cuddled in to Jake's warm body and pulled his arm across my waist.

"Jake, I love you…and I am sorry about everything," I whispered into his ear. I had managed to hide my nightmares of the incubus from him and kept a smile plastered to my face the entire week. I didn't want him to suffer just to make myself feel better by telling him. I'm sure that keeping busy kept my mind off things as well. He didn't answer, confirming that he was asleep. I was suddenly inspired. I could tell him without him knowing…I could make myself better without hurting him.

I leaned against the head board and began to whisper my sad story. My body shook from sobbing as I recounted the horror that happened in the pier storage shed. "…I never meant to hurt you. He conned me, but I fought. I fought my way through his lies and saw the truth…I tried to make him stop, Jake. Dad saved me and said that I should tell you…but I was afraid, I didn't want to burden you…" I collapsed forward burying my face in my hands, shaking uncontrollably. I reached out; seeking to hold his hand as he slept, but I couldn't find it. Sitting up, I looked over where he was sleeping, and jumped. Two darks eyes looked up at me from his motionless body. His teeth were clenched. For the first time I felt fear from my husband.

I leaned away as I saw his fist clench and unclench. _Would he hit me?_ I wondered. He swiftly lunged at me, grabbing me tightly. I gasped as his body hit mine. I prepared for the blow. _Would he hit me in the face, scratch me…bite me?_ I winced at the last thought; instead, his warm arms wrapped around my shaking body. He pulled me onto his lap and began petting my hair. Confusion washed over me.

Jacob leaned back, grabbing my face between his two hot hands, "I wish you had told me right away…" He looked distraught. _Maybe Dad was right, maybe he wouldn't hate me._ I hoped. "Ness, you shouldn't have feared me. I want to comfort you…of course it wasn't your fault." He looked away, not wanting to say the words, "You may have initially agreed…but…" He returned his gaze to me, his soul burning through his eyes. "…you beat him. You fought against him, that's what matters. I'm sorry you had to go through this alone…I should have been the one to save you." He added the last line after he let me go. He was disgusted with himself.

I leaned forward to comfort him now. I planted a kiss square on his lips, "You didn't know. Dad heard my thoughts and came to help…you didn't know…" I was suddenly very happy that I hadn't told him my fears of being pregnant. That would devastate him, and it most likely wasn't going to happen. After years of trying with Jacob, it was ridiculous to think that the minute of hell was going to change my disposition.

* * *

**What's your weirdest dream?**


	7. Got Milk?

**Chapter Seven: Got Milk?**

It had been a month and a half since we returned from Isle Esme. School would be letting out soon, and my stomach was fluttering constantly with nerves about attending a new college. Things with Jake were almost back to normal. He would still worry when I was in the shower too long, and I would still worry when he would visit La Push. We both kept expecting the other person to fall back into the difficult depression of the old routine that we had been facing for so long. Old habits die hard…

This particular evening we were lounging around our room flipping through our college handbooks. I had just received a letter in the mail about orientation in the late summer. Jake and I would be able to wear our wedding bands again; as we wouldn't really need to hide our marriage in college…it wasn't so unusual in this day and age for people our pretended age to be married. At this point, Jake's pretended age was 19 and mine was 18. In truth Jacob's age was about 40, and mine was 22. If people knew that I was married at the age of 11…

I was lying on my stomach sprawled across the bed. My legs were bent at the knees and my feet crossed at the ankles. Jake was reclining on the thick Oriental rug that covered the hardwood in the middle of our room. I glanced at his body over the handbook. I felt that familiar sensation growing in my lower abdomen. He was oblivious to my ogling as his eyes were closed. His hands were behind his head displaying his inner arm muscles as they strained against his grey t-shirt. His dark hair was trimmed short, just the way that I liked it. His right leg was bent against the floor and his left ankle was supported by his right knee. I admired his defined calf muscles as he flexed and extended his supported foot. I was growing bored with my current distractions and flipped the book closed.

I took a deep breath and dragged myself, still lying on my stomach, to peer over the edge of the bed, "Jakey?" I pushed my eyebrows together to feign confusion. I wasn't a seductress, so I didn't bother trying to "purr" his name.

Jake twisted his head, tilting it up to look into my eyes. He raised his eyebrows quizzically. "Yes?" Step one of 'Operation: Get-Jake-In-Bed? Check!

I grinned widely, "I think I just head Esme and Carlisle leave." I had overhead Carlisle earlier asking Esme to go with him to a double feature at the Cineplex, and my parents were on an extended hunting trip. I drank in his beauty as the sentence I had just spoke sunk in. _He's mine, all mine. _I thought to myself.

Jacob's grin matched mine as he lunged at me, powerful yet graceful. In the first few years we destroyed two beds, knocked countless holes in the walls, ripped pillows and sheets, and took out our closet door once. Esme had pulled us aside, explaining what would happen if we ruined another piece of her house. Neither of us wanted to be abstinent, so we adjusted the power we put behind our…well…behind. "We're alone," he sighed into my ear, raising goosebumps on my neck.

"Whatever should we do to keep ourselves busy, kind gentleman?" I batted my eyes and did my best impression of Scarlett O'Hara. _That_ woman had power. _That_ woman could seduce the pants off the Pope.

Rose, Jasper, Alice, and Emmett had already left when we returned from our little getaway. My parents had decided to stick around, claiming that they had finished their classes early to get a head start on summer break. I missed them throughout the year, so I didn't complain.

After our return from spring break, Dad insisted that I talk to my Mom about 'things' that had happened. She was eager to put her psychology degree to use, and at the same time upset that she needed it after all. After four weeks of talking through my guilt and fears and tendency to fall back into the old routine, I found myself wanting to be with Jake based on attraction and passion rather than guilt and duty.

Jake crushed his lips onto mine. I welcomed him eagerly, parting my lips; I was in no mood for foreplay. His tongue ran across my bottom lip before it snaked into my mouth. I felt it run across my…_Oh God!_ I quickly pushed Jake away, holding my hand over my mouth. "What the hell did you eat, Jake!" I screamed. My stomach was convulsing as the taste lingered in my mouth.

Jacob was clearly caught off guard. Defensively he spoke, "I just had a glass of milk! Geez, I'll go brush my…"

Before he could finish his sentence I was in the bathroom leaning over the toilet. I heaved, emptying my stomach into the little porcelain bowl. _Oh God! That was…unexpected._ I sighed, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand and getting up to wash my mouth out. "No more milk," I whispered quietly.

Jacob appeared around the door, leaning in cautiously. "Babe…I'm really sorry." He looked terrified. One minute we were hot and heavy, and the next all that I can think about is getting as far away from him as possible. Talk about whiplash. He crept closer, being sure not to breathe on me. He hugged me close, and then reached for his toothbrush and paste.

I slowly slinked into the bedroom and sank onto our bed. I laid back and closed my eyes. I had to get control of my body. I emptied my mind, thinking of nothing in particular. _One, two, three, four…_

My stomach growled, waking me from my deep dreamless sleep. I had barely laid my head back before I had fallen asleep. "What's that smell? Jake?" I looked around the room for Jacob, but I didn't see him anywhere. My eyes settled on the culprit of the scent that was invading my flaring nostrils.

A plate of food sat on the bedside table. A heaping serving of eggs and sausage were set next to a bowl of strawberries. _What time is it?_ A soft glow was peeking through the curtains of the window. _I feel so rested…I guess I really needed a few hours of sleep. Maybe I was just really tired._ Foot steps approached my doorway. "Jake?" I mumbled between bites. It was so good, and my stomach was so empty.

Edward popped his head around the door jamb, "No Ness, just me." He eyed my disheveled clothes, wet with sweat.

_ Its not what you think, Dad. _ I thought to him. Although it could have been…stupid milk. Edward frowned at that thought. I looked down at my plate of food before an embarrassed grin covered my face. I quickly shoved another bite of eggs into my mouth.

"I know Ness, I was just worried about you. We all are." He smiled softly. "Jake called me while you were asleep. He stayed up all night watching you." He answered my thoughts. "I kicked him out to clear his head about 20 minutes ago. Told him not to come back for an hour."

"_All night?!"_ I gasped. Had I really slept throughout the afternoon and night? I have never needed to sleep so much…what is wrong with me?

"Yes, Carlisle has been waiting for you to wake up to check you over." Edward spoke, worry coloring his voice.

I rolled my eyes. Of course. They probably interrupted Carlisle and Esme's date just to have them sit around and wait for me to wake up. "Dad, I think you are making a big deal out of nothing. Maybe my body is just telling me to go hunt and not drink milk." I sighed exasperated. Every time that I fell down, I would have to get a full check-up with Carlisle.

"This _is_ a big deal, Ness. Vampires don't get sick without eating food. If you were a full vampire…maybe it would make since, but considering that you _do_ eat food…" He sighed and threw his head back. "Please Ness, just humor me. You got sick, then you slept for over 14 hours."

"Really, Dad, I feel much…" I stopped, my stomach lurched, "…much…" I blinked trying to steady myself on the bed. "…b…b…" I ran for the bathroom, slamming the door behind me.


	8. Morning Sickness

**Chapter Eight: Morning Sickness  
**

The eggs hadn't even cooled in my stomach before they came back out. It was not something that I ever wanted to experience again, or for the first time really. I lay on the floor of the bathroom sobbing for what seemed like days. _ Had I eaten something and gotten food poisoning? Did vampires get food poisoning? Maybe I got some kind of vampire virus in Rio…_ There was a knock at the door.

"Are you still feeling sick?" Edward asked. Of course he had heard my thoughts.

"I don't feel well…but I don't think I'm going to yak all over your shoes," I added to clarify.

"Can I come in? I would like to talk." His voice broke slightly. He was obviously worried about me, too.

"Give me a minute to freshen up, Dad." I pushed off the toilet, willing myself to stand, and shuffled to the double sink. I let the water run until it was warm, then splashed it over my face and cupped some into my mouth. I looked at my appearance in the mirror and cringed. All color was gone from my face, I actually did look green. "Okay, you can come in."

The door quietly opened and Edward gently wrapped his arms around me, comforting me. _There must be something wrong with me…I'm sick. Can half-vampires get sick? Am I dying? _I wondered. Thoughts of a gruesome death filled my head. I would suffer for maybe a hundred years, slowly starving to death because my body wouldn't allow me to consume anything. I would become increasingly smaller and my bones would protrude from my thinning skin. Perhaps it was what I deserved. _NO_! What was I thinking? I talked this over with Mom a million times. I don't deserve this…

My thoughts were quickly interrupted. "Sweetheart, you'll be fine. I promise. I won't let anything bad happen to you." He refused to meet my eyes as he looked over my shoulder and I could tell that he couldn't be sure of his promise. Something _was_ wrong with me. I began sobbing again and hid my face in my father's shoulder. He caught my thoughts and quickly pulled away, his expression was torn. His eyes danced back and forth across my face looking for something.

"Say what ever it is that you are thinking." _I can handle the truth, Dad. _ The unspoken lie fell flat. If I didn't believe it how could I convince him to?

"Your not _sick_ sweetie, your symptoms are…well…" He paused, unsure how to break the news of my illness gently. "…much like your mother's…after our honeymoon." He closed his eyes and cringed as if he expected me to scream or hit him. Maybe both.

I couldn't figure out what he was insinuating. My mother was human after the honeymoon. _I_ _certainly couldn't catch a human disease could I?_ I was half-human after all…maybe I could. _How do you treat a…_

Edward saw the confusion on my face and sighed, "…when we first found out about you." He whispered so no other prying ears could hear.

Realization hit me like a Mack truck…well…actually a Mack truck wouldn't hurt too much. It hit me like…Emmett. I stumbled backwards, fear feeding upon fear. I couldn't be…pregnant. Not after so many years of trying. I refused to think that this child could be Liam's. I shuddered as I thought his name…he didn't deserve a name. I usually just thought of him as _the_ incubus, as a nameless, soulless monster. Why did this happen now when I couldn't be sure of the paternity? "Fuck" I sighed as I plopped down on the tiles again before dry heaving in the toilet.

I realized that I was late. I began counting backwards._ Three weeks late?_ How did I not realize sooner what was wrong with me? "I need to talk to Carlisle." I spoke quietly, without emotion. "I need to believe that this," I patted my stomach, "is Jake's. It has to be." A small sob broke my voice.

Edwards's eyes were sad mixed with another emotion that I couldn't place immediately. Fear? "I just want you to be okay. You have been the exception to every rule…I just want you to be the exception to this one too. I want you to be happy," He smiled slightly, "but perhaps even more, I want you to survive this. I hope your body stretches over the growing womb. I need to believe that you will." His voice broke. He stood in silence for a minute or so and then he helped me up, looping his arm around my shoulders and rubbing my arm gently. "Perhaps we should go see Carlisle now."

Carlisle was surprised, but only slightly so. Either that or he didn't want to show me that he feared that it was the incubus' baby. He asked when I thought it was conceived to help gauge the rate at which it was growing. When I told him that at the latest it would have been the first day of spring break, a small smile played across his lips. He didn't want to be too optimistic however.

He said that we should be prepared for anything and everything – I should be prepared to let him destroy the fetus if it appeared that it would kill me. It couldn't grow faster than even I had, or slower…if it was in fact Jacob's child. Every kind of terrifying thought was flowing through my mind. I was terrified that it was the monsters baby…and equally terrified that it was Jake's. It would kill him to finally have a baby within reach if we should have to terminate it.

We left the study with less hope than we had entered it with. My father knew the hell that Mom had gone through when she was pregnant with me, it had killed her – quite literally. The unknowns of my pregnancy were slightly more horrendous than hers. If I was on the brink of death, no venom would keep me in this world – there would be no last minute miracle drug.

"Would you like me to stay until Jake gets back?" Edward asked. I had missed him being a father to me. So often we had to pretend that we were only cousins.

"No, I would appreciate the time alone to think things through." I paused. "I do have one favor to ask…"

"Anything." He spoke quickly.

"Well…Mom told me that you could…hear me, you know, while I was still inside her? And I was wondering…" I stopped. What was I asking of my father? Would this child's thoughts confirm its paternity?

"_When_ I hear his thoughts, I will tell you immediately. It may not make a difference. It may not help, but I will let you know either way." He answered my spoken and unspoken questions. He was certain that he would be able to hear the baby…my baby. I closed my eyes in deep thoughts.

"Thanks, Dad" I whispered as he slid out the door. I had to believe that this baby was Jake's, and that everything would be okay. I had to believe it, because in a few minutes I would have to tell him that his patience had paid off, that he was going to be a father.


	9. Breaking News

**A/N: You know the drill, I don't own these characters...blah, blah. Also, if you could please, please review I will most definitely send you a little 'peek' of the next chapter. The whole story has been roughly written, and I am going through putting in details, important things, so if you see a problem with something or would like something in the story let me know. **

**This chapter goes liljenrocks for reviewing every chapter!**

**Chapter Nine: Breaking News  
**

I could hear Jake enter the house. I still didn't know how I was going to break the news to him. It had been a few weeks since he went out in his wolf form, so he had been due for a run, unless he wanted to continue to age. I sat on the edge of our bed closest to the bathroom door, in case I needed to make a quick exit. Carlisle had told me that according to measurements, it _appeared_ that the fetus was growing at a "normal rate" – that it would be nine months from conception before he would make his debut, but that could always change.

"Honey?" I was interrupted from my reverie by my husband standing only a foot in front of me. I hadn't even heard Jake climb the stairs.

_Oh God, this is it! _I thought. My heart rate picked up immediately as I pulled the corner of my bottom lip between my teeth. I began picking at a string hanging from the hem of my shirt sleeve.

"Your Dad said you wanted to talk to me?" Jake questioned. From the corner of my eye I could see his face and it nearly broke my heart right then. The confusion was amplifying the worry on his face. His eyes were puffy and red with prominent dark circles underneath. He had been crying – that much was clear.

"Yes." I whispered without looking him in the face. I patted the bed beside me. He would want to be sitting when I told him the news. _What if he thinks it is the incubus'? What if he phases right beside me? _ Suddenly fear of his reaction flooded through me. I had to do this before I lost my nerve. I turned to him, pulling the leg closest to him on the bed as I did. I grabbed his hands with my own; I could feel him shaking. I wasn't afraid though, it wasn't angry shaking…yet…he was afraid. I took a deep breath and forced myself to look into his eyes. "I spoke to Carlisle this morning. You know about me getting sick?"

He nodded his head, but remained silent. He squeezed my hands urging me to continue.

My throat felt incredibly dry as the deep breaths that I took slid down it. "He thinks…" I gulped, and wetted my lips. I forced a smile onto my face, but I was sure that I looked more in pain than happy.

"Oh God, Ness." Jacob dropped my hands as huge tears started to roll down his perfect cheeks. His weary head fell into his large strong hands as muffled sobs tore through his body, shaking the entire bed. "Whatever is wrong with you...I swear...I...I...won't stop. I won't stop until you're..." His words were muffled and broken as he tried to pull himself together. He slowly lifted his face before he reached one hand out to cup the my cheek. "...better. Believe me when I say that I would give anything to take this...whatever it is away." His words were confident in his conviction, although he still didn't know Carlisle's diagnosis.

I reached up to hold the hand that was brushing my face and felt that my cheeks were wet with my own tears. I took in everything about my handsome husband. Starting from his tender, loving eyes and moving down his body, memorizing everything about him in this moment when he still loved me. His body broke down into sobs again, and I shook myself from my selfishness. He was unnecessarily worrying about what to do about the disease that I didn't have.

"Let me finish first, okay Jake." I pulled his hands back in mine and restarted, "He's confident that…" _Why is this sentence so hard to say!?_ "…I'm pregnant."

His jaw dropped and his eyes flew open, bulging out of the sockets. His body began to shake uncontrollably. Fear rippled through me. _He's put the pieces together. He's going to rip me to shreds!_ I couldn't force my body to move from my place, although fear shot through me. Perhaps I deserved it.

He lunged forward; his hard body was crushing mine as he continued to shake. He pulled his face back, to look into mine. He was smiling hugely, tears streaming down his face. He wasn't going to kill me, he was...overcome with joy! His eyes suddenly went wide as he gingerly extracted himself from on top of me and back to a sitting position on the edge of our bed. "I...I'm sorry. Did I hurt you? I shouldn't have..." He was frantically searching my body with his hands, unconsciously sending a swell of lust straight to my core. I grabbed his face in my hands as I smirked at him and shook my head 'no'. "Oh thank God." He breathed out in relief. He began kissing my face passionately, making his way down my neck and chest to my stomach. I couldn't even hide the cheesy grin on my face if I wanted to. He looked up into my face as he planted a kiss right below my belly button.

"Jake, I love you." I whispered as I stared at the ceiling, thanking my lucky stars over and over again.

"Renesmee" he purred, pulling me up to sit again. "You have given me the greatest gift in the world." Suddenly his face fell into a stone mask. _Oh god, he remembered the incubus!_ "What does Carlisle think?" He questioned. I felt my brows furrow in confusion. _What would Carlisle know about the paternity?_ "Are you going to be okay? Will you stretch? How fast is it growing? When is it due?" The questions poured out.

I smiled and a little giggle escaped. _He is worried about me._ "He isn't sure about anything, but it appears that the…baby…is growing at a normal _human_ pace." Kisses covered my face again. "Carlisle said that it could change - and that if…things aren't working correctly with me…he would have to…um" I dropped my head. I couldn't give him good news without the bad. "terminate it." I whispered the word, half-way hoping that he hadn't heard it.

"It's okay baby. I know that our baby will be just fine. You wouldn't have gotten pregnant if it wasn't meant to be. Either way, I wouldn't want a baby if it was going to kill you." No, he was wrong; he had given me the greatest gift in the world. He was choosing to believe that it was his child. I hated to ruin his moment of happiness, but I couldn't wait until he was born and break Jake's heart all over again.

"Jake." I looked into his face, unafraid, yet worried. I stammered, opening my mouth and closing it before anything escaped. Could I do this? Yes. "The estimated conception date was nearly two months ago." I sighed, hoping he would understand without me needing to say the words. "It isn't precise, because Carlisle can't scan through my stomach, but…the baby could," I paused again, unsure what exactly to say. Closing my eyes I continued. "…be either yours or the incubus' based on the date."

The room was quiet. I peeked to see whether Jake had bolted at the news; instead he remained in front of me. His eyes bore into mine. I gulped and decided to try something. "But I think it's yours. If it was…his…chances are things would be progressing quicker. But you are human, and I am half-human."

"It makes sense, Ness." He hugged me. "I don't blame you, baby." He sighed, resigned. "Even if it's not mine, I will love it, because it is yours." He kissed me gently then pulled away to stroke my hair. He had so much love in his eyes that it nearly broke my heart.

I didn't deserve him. When had he become so understanding? Perhaps we were better…perhaps we could live happily. The way that we had once upon a time.

* * *

**A/n: Any of you out there have interesting "I'm pregnant" stories? Please share!**


	10. Three Month Check Up

**A/N: You know it, I don't own Twilight or any of Stephenie Meyer's stories.**

**Chapter Ten: Three Month Check-up**

_Three months… _I sighed._ I should be showing…am I showing? Things are progressing slowly and standing on the scale doesn't help much…_

"Renesmee? It's time for your check-up." Carlisle called from downstairs. He spoke no louder than if I was a foot away from him, but my perceptive half-vampiric ears picked it up easily. I had been standing in front of the floor length mirror in the bathroom; looking head on and then at my profile while pulling my shirt tight, straining my eyes for any tangible change in my constant body.

Alice flitted into the room dragging me along. She was more excited than I was, perhaps because she couldn't see the outcome beforehand. "Do you see me happy or upset in a few minutes, Alice?" Although she couldn't see the baby, I hoped that see could see _my_ future.

"Oh just come on, we will both find out soon enough. Jacob's already down there." Even with heels on, our approach to the study was quiet. Alice had been dressing me for years and today was no exception. Since news of my pregnancy, I had been inundated with "baby" clothes – no not for the baby, clothes that announced to everyone I came in contact with that I was pregnant. Although I was proud to be prego, the fact that I looked seventeen to the human eye brought many dirty looks my way. Today she dressed me in loose fitting jeans and a white tank top with the word 'baby' printed all down the left side in different handwriting.

"Hi, Carlisle." I tried to smile as we stepped into the study. Alice and Rosalie had initially fought over who would help me throughout the pregnancy. Alice won out since Rose had been my mother's advocate and had her chance already. The grin on Alice's face was contagious and Carlisle seemed more hopeful. Jacob fidgeted in the chair beside the examination chair, which was just a leather recliner.

"Hello, ladies. Come on in." My mother was already waiting by the wall, her arms folded across her chest; it wasn't anger that kept her in this position. Any idiot could see that she was as nervous as I was. Carlisle pulled a measuring tape from his pocket. "Okay sweetie, take a seat. I'm just going to put my hands on your belly to try and feel the womb. I will be measuring it, if I can, to see if things are progressing properly."

As I approached the chair, Jacob bolted up and smiled warmly at me before helping me take a seat. "I love you, babe." He whispered into my hair after placing a kiss on the top of my head.

Mom was immediately at my side holding my left hand as Alice held my right. I showed them both an image of me gigantic with a hand above and below my belly, the way that humans did when they were pregnant. I showed them Alice running wildly around Motherhood Maternity, looking for trendy clothes that met her standards. Mom's eyes met Alice's and they laughed. "I will be like a whale…" I mused, hopefully.

"No doubt." Alice commented seriously.

"Alright, ladies. You know the drill." He scolded Alice and Bella. "You can be in the room if you stay out of the way." He pointed to the wall that my mother was leaning against moments before. Jacob took their place as they reluctantly left my side.

Carlisle pushed my shirt out of the way, exposing my stomach. He attempted to press into my stomach, searching, but I could see in his eyes that he was hopeless. After three hundred years, he had no reason to believe that a vampire, whether whole or half, could procreate. He abruptly stopped his ministrations and I could see his brows furrow before he repeated his previous actions. His head jerked up. His eyes were wide as if there was danger. His lips were parted slightly, then he raised on eyebrow. _What the hell does that mean?_ He looked back at my stomach, still prodding. He stopped an inch above my naval and pulled out the measuring tape. The end started where the prodding stopped and traveled down just below the top of my panties. His lips were tight as he was in full doctor mode. _This can't be good!_

"I would also like to measure you around your waist, to see if that has changed." Carlisle insisted. I shakily sat up, allowing the tape around my back. His eyes grew wide again as a smile crept across his face. I looked over at Alice, her smile matched his.

"Come on, Carlisle! I can't stand the suspense. Am I…stretching?" I yelled.

His eyes met mine, the smile still in place. "You skin has stretched. I could feel the top of the womb. Your measurements are a little less than average…but they are different than they have been since you stopped growing." The chair began shaking. What was causing it to tremble so. Jacob gripped my hand tighter. I looked at our hands, realizing that _I_ was shaking.

"So…I could have this baby?" I gasped in between the sobs that shook my body. I smiled widely. "We could both survive?"

I looked back and forth between Bella, Alice, and Carlisle. All of their expressions were as ecstatic as my own. "According to this information? Yes, I do believe that your dreams may have finally come true."

"I'm gonna have a baby!" I screamed as if I had just been told for the first time. "Jacob! We're gonna have a baby!" I jumped up and began bouncing in true Alice fashion. The remainder of the family that _wasn't _in the room raced to squeeze in the tiny office with us.

I looked around at the faces of my family, taking in the moment. My mother and father were giving us space, as they stood against the wall that she was originally banished to. They were both staring into each others eyes with the largest smiles on their faces. "I love you Grandma." I heard my father whisper to my mother.

I turned my attention to Rosalie and Emmett, who were rapidly talking about all the ways that they would spoil this child. Rosalie was gushing about how we would have more time to treat him…or her as a child, because it appeared that he or she would be growing up slowly. Alice was still bouncing with me, while Jasper was congratulating Jacob. Esme and Carlisle were discussing every medical thing that had been established during the examination.

I finally allowed my gaze to meet Jacob's as I stopped bouncing. I pulled him in to a hug and kissed his cheek. "Ness, you're going to be a great Mom." Jacob whispered into my ear. Hearing those words, words that I never thought I would, brought everything to reality. The tears of joy that I had been holding back poured out of me and into Jake's chest. In that moment, it didn't matter how this child was created, all that mattered was that he was. And that he was mine.

**A/N: Let me know what you think of this chapter. I personally LOVE it. But I love all happy things. PLEASE REVIEW!  
**


	11. Heartbeat

**Chapter Eleven: Heartbeat**

The months flew by and the morning sickness waned, although it never went completely away. Seeing, smelling, or tasting milk still made my stomach roll. Once a month, Carlisle would call me into the study to poke, prod, and measure. Today was my seven month check-up and I was anxiously waiting for Carlisle to beckon me. Alice and Bella were attempting to distract me by going for a human paced walk through the woods. We were "nature walking" with Jacob in his wolf form. We figured since we were out, he might as well tap into his fountain of youth.

At the first sign of pregnancy, my parents had insisted that I quit my job as a tour guide. No need to draw extra attention to myself, they had said, as my physical appearance was that of seventeen year old…that and according to our official story, I wasn't married. I had to agree, when an elderly woman accosted me about my promiscuous acts – and how I was a bad example to children…and how she couldn't believe that the city would employee someone of such moral standards.

This particular day, Alice seemed overly stressed. I wasn't sure whether it pertained to me, or the fact that Jasper had gone away for a hunting trip with Emmett and Rose. Alice refused to leave my side for more than a few hours; just enough time for a quick hunt. _Come on, not everything is about you, Renesmee!_

"Renesmee, I'm ready for you." Carlisle's melodic voice hit my ears, breaking my chain of thought. I turned quickly and began running to the house at a speed that I felt wouldn't jostle the fetus too much. One hand on top of my belly and one on the bottom, I moved faster than the average human – yet no where near my typical vampire speed.

"I'm coming, Carlisle!" I shouted, louder than necessary. Alice and Bella caught up with me quickly, putting a hand on each shoulder. Jacob loped along beside me giving me a harsh look.

"Sweetheart, don't push yourself. You need to be careful." Mom cautioned as she somehow managed to slow me down. Jacob ducked under the porch to return to his human form and get decently covered before accompanying me to Carlisle's office.

"Mom, I'm fine. I know what I'm capable of. I'm not going as fast as I could." I retorted as I swiftly opened the door and continued moving in. I took the straight route to the study, bracing myself to leap over the couch.

I felt Alice stop short, but I continued on my path, eager to see any new developments. I pushed off the floor, stretching myself forward.

"NO!" Alice growled. I turned my head mid-leap, attempting to see the problem. Her eyes were glazed over staring into the future. Before seven hundredths of a second had passed I was looking forward again, preparing for landing. Landing on the balls of my feet, I stood my ground, returning my gaze to Alice. She was now at my side.

"_What_ _were you thinking!"_ She screeched, grabbing my arms roughly. "You were already jumping when my vision started. What if something bad had happened!" She continued.

Bella was at my side, prying Alice's hands from my upper arms. If I had been human, my bones surely would have broken. "When I was pregnant with you, you nearly died as I leaned over, reaching for a dropped cup, Ness! Do you want to have to go through what I did?" Her face was grief stricken, and I couldn't help but to let the guilt wash over me. It would have taken less than a second longer to go _around_ the sofa. A shudder passed through my mother's frame at the memory of the last moments of her life, and the first of my own.

I felt guilty. Carlisle was now in the room looking back and forth between us, trying to understand what had happened. "Let's check you out, dear." He said, glaring at my attackers before turning his glare on me. "They were absolutely right, Renesmee. I'd hate to see something happen after all your years of hard work." He chided. Jacob skidded into the room at the tail end of our discussion as he pulled his shirt on. He gave me a look that said he heard everything, and agreed with everyone in the room, but he kept his opinion to himself.

We entered the study hand in hand, and he led me to the measuring chair. I pushed my shirt out of the way as he began prodding my swollen torso. I couldn't wait to see how things were progressing. I had consistently been gaining weight and inches where I was supposed to, and now I was larger than the average pregnant woman. My breasts were enlarged, and my joints were loose – preparing for the big day.

Carlisle's eyebrows furrowed together and his lips drew down. "Hmmm" He sounded truly like a doctor when he did that. "This is unexpected." He continued. My mind went into over drive at his statement. _Unexpected? _He continued measuring, poking, prodding, listening with his stethoscope.

"Grandpa Carlisle?" I played on his emotions, hoping he would quit keeping me in the dark about his thoughts. "What is it?" I needed to know _now_ what he was thinking. "Is there something wrong with the baby!?" _I KNEW I shoudn't have jumped that stupid sofa!_

He met my eyes, and then looked at both Alice, then Bella. He remained silent still.

_Spit it out already!_ I thought, aggravated. The suspense was killing me, as worry worked its way through my body.

Edward shot into the room, his eyes large. He grabbed Carlisle by the front of his shirt. "Are you sure?" He gasped.

This one sided conversation was getting on my last nerve. "HELLO!" I shouted, waving my hands at them. "Pregnant lady, here! Don't you think I deserve to be in the loop?"

"Sorry, honey. I heard Carlisle's thoughts. He can finally hear the heartbeats through your think skin. They are so quiet." He whispered the last sentence. "I still can't hear the thoughts though. They must be learning at the correct speed." He smiled first at me, then at my Mom.

"Just let me know what's going on. What was he…" I stopped and gasped involuntarily. Bella grabbed my hand and leaned down to me. I looked into her enthusiastic face. She had caught his mistake before I had. "…did you say _they_?" _Deep breath, Ness…just breathe._

Carlisle shot an angry expression at Edward before returning his eyes to me. He smiled apologetically at me as he grabbed my hand. My mind whirled as the air blew angrily in and out of my lungs. "I heard your heartbeat first, and then I found another, faster heartbeat – the baby. I continued listening for other noises…and well…there was _another_ heartbeat. You're having twins, dear."

The room spun violently, then went black.


	12. Just My Luck

**A/N: I know, I know I don't usually switch POVs but I really needed to get a part of this out that had been bugging me, even after everything else was finished. Please review…I would love it. And if you do, I may just grant you a peek at the next chapter.**

**Chapter Twelve: Just my luck…**

"Honey? Ness? Sweetie, can you hear me?" The voice sounded like it was coming from a cave. It echoed, bouncing around on the inside of my head, before my brain interpreted it. The voice got louder, got closer – or I got closer to it. _Man, I am so confused. And I have a headache?_

"Jake" My voice was rough and broken as I spoke his name. He was going home to La Push for the last time before the due date. I wasn't allowed to make the trip with him, but Billy wanted an update – not to mention the "pack"; of course, they don't run as a pack anymore…but, whatever. They were all pleased that Jake would finally start his family. Things were going so well, that I didn't worry about _who_ he would be spending most of his time with. I hadn't gone with Jake home to La Push since our marital problems began; I just couldn't face his friends for fear that they all knew every detail already.

I slowly opened my eyes and squinted at the blurry, dark form in front of me. We were alone in our bedroom, but I was sure that every other member of this household was holding their breath listening to our conversation. I heard a sigh from the downstairs and soft footsteps as my parents, grandparents, and Alice stepped out of the house. The previous action confirmed that he was listening to my thoughts, and that everyone _was indeed_ listening in on our conversation. I just needed some time alone with my husband, surely they could understand that. _Go hunt and give us a few minutes_ I thought to my father.

Jake was supporting my head with his arm. He leaned in for a kiss, and I couldn't resist giving him what he wanted, even though I was a little confused. I couldn't remember what happened that lead to this situation. _I was with Carlisle in the study…and then... Oh, that's right. _I felt my eyes go wide as the reality of the situation _really_ hit me. My mouth silently formed an 'o' shape.

A smile spread across Jacob's face from ear to ear. "So…" He raised an eyebrow as his mouth pulled out into a tight smile, suppressing a giggle, "…it seems we need two cribs instead of just the one." He motioned to the bassinet that was already set up at the end of our bed.

The reality of the situation was sinking in now that I was conscious. "Actually, Jakey, that's a bassinet – the baby sleeps there until he sleeps through the night. We will have to convert my mother's fake bedroom into the babies' room later. That's when they sleep in cribs." It was my turn to suppress a snort at his lack of experience with babies.

"Oh." Jake was obviously not schooled in baby lingo. "Then we will need another_ bassinet_." He smiled as he emphasized the last word. It thrilled me that our children would sleep in the bassinet that I had, and that my mother had. Grandpa Charlie had insisted that Bella take her old bassinet when he first met me, unfortunately he would never meet his great-grand children. Charlie had passed away the previous year in a disastrous traffic accident.

"The twins will probably rather sleep together – I'm thinking we should get a full sized crib set up in case they don't both fit in the bassinet…" I trailed off. This sudden twist had thrown a wrench in all of our plans. We would need twice as many diapers, clothes, and bottles. My stomach was cramping. _I really need to eat._ "Pookie?" I fluttered my lashes as I mocked flirting in much the same way that my mother had all those years ago.

Jacob gave me a look that said he wasn't amused. Ever since I was informed of the _real_ history between my Mom and Jacob, I threw it in his face every chance that I got. "I'm really hungry." I pouted and looked down. I realized that I was still wearing the same clothes from earlier…and that I had somehow managed to rip the shirt. "Would you make me a sandwich while I get changed?"

Jacob leaned in and kissed my forehead and then stood up, pulling me with him. "Sure. I was getting hungry myself anyway." He stepped out of the room and I headed over to the massive closet to find something comfortable and cute to wear.

**J-POV: A/N: I know, I know I don't usually switch, but I really needed to get this down, and couldn't in her POV.**

I slowly walked downstairs, trying to ignore the invading smell of vampire that seeped into my nose as I made my way through the living room. The stench wasn't as bad as it once had been – and I was willing to do anything for Ness. Even when she tried to throw me out of the house, I had stayed and put up with the whole nest of angry vamps.

Blondie still got on my nerves sometimes…but I learned to take it in good humor, always looking for a way to 'one up' her. The rest had begrudgingly allowed me to stay with them in the beginning, but as the years drug on they became friendlier. Alice was the first to accept me into the inner sanctum of the Cullen family/coven…whatever you wanna call it. She insisted that I couldn't keep wearing sweat pants forever if I was living with them and took me shopping. Looking back now, I know that it was less about the clothing and more about making a statement to the rest of the family about acceptance. It's no wonder that Bella felt drawn to her, whether everyone wants to believe it or not – she is the glue that holds them all together.

I plopped some sliced turkey on the open sandwiches in front of me. Ness had taken to putting every condiment under the sun on her sandwiches, while I preferred simply mayonnaise and a tomato. On her sandwich I piled lettuce, tomato, onion, mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, a few banana peppers, and two slices of provolone cheese. _Nasty._

I grabbed one plate in each hand as I made my way back up the stairs. What I saw when I opened the door brought those conflicted emotions that always exist when someone is in love. Reneesme was sitting in front of her closet with her legs extended out in front of her and piles of clothes all around her. My sweet little angel lifted her legs and dropped them down heavily on the floor at the same time that a low growl escaped her chest and her hands clenched into fists.

She looked so adorable, in an angry kitten sort of way – much the same way that Edward used to describe Bella before her change. A smile wanted to play across my face as I watched her from the doorway, but at the same time I wanted to cry because she was too. What on earth could have upset her so much in the few minutes that I was gone? "Babe?" Her head snapped to my face, and the glare was enough to make me withdraw the 'angry kitten' thought. I could practically feel 'little Jakey' cowering in fear. "Y-You okay?" I stuttered.

"_YOU!" _ She shrieked. She pulled her legs up and planted her hands on either side of her as she tried to get up. When that didn't work, she rolled back and forth, trying to launch herself to her feet. "I hate you!" She spit angrily as she gave up. She picked up clothes in each hand and tossed them up in the air dramatically. "None of my clothes fit. _None!_ And you-" She turned her face back to glare at me. "You haven't gained a damn pound! You can wear all of your clothes." She turned back to a sexy, low-cut, yellow halter top in her hands. It was one of my favorites on her. "And I have so many cute summer clothes…and I can't wear any of them." She pouted again.

"Babe, you're pregnant. It happens." I helped her up and pulled her onto my lap as I peppered kisses along her jawline.

**R-POV**

Jacob kissed my forehead. "You have made me the happiest man in the world, do you know that?" He whispered into my ear as he kissed down the side of my neck. Apparently the idea of procreating turned him on.

"Oh, Jake." I moaned. "Jake?" I panted.

"Yes, dear?" He responded, kissing down my chest now.

"AHHHHH!" Air whooshed out of my lungs activating my vocal cords in a painful scream. The pain in my abdomen begged for attention. I doubled over, giving in to the torment.

Jacob shot straight up, a look of terror on his face. "Oh god, did I hurt you? Ness, tell me what's wrong!" He began patting me, searching for the origin of the screams.

My granite skin had protected me from physical pain my whole life –the only pain I had felt was heartache. The sudden presence of hurt was unimaginable, but because I had nothing to compare it with, I thought I was dying. "Jake! It hurts _so_ bad!" I screeched.

"Where? Tell me what to do! Please, someone help!" I realized we were alone in the house. Jasper, Rose, and Emmett were still on their extended hunting trip, and I had just sent the rest of the household away. How would I get through this?

I attempted to speak in between gasps and moans, "Jake…Ugh…I…Ehhh…" I took a deep breath and spat out the rest of the sentence, "think I'm in labor!" I screamed again, hoping that it was loud enough that one of them would hear me.


	13. Babies!

**Chapter Thirteen: BABIES!**

_How far away are they? How long will it take them to get back?"_ I was frantic.

Jake's eyes bulged. "Hold on sweetie. I need to get something sterilized. The bed? No…hold on baby, I'll be right back." Jake leapt from beside me and took off toward the attic. Before 60 deep breaths he had returned. He grabbed me up and dashed to the stairs, taking three at a time. He ran to Carlisle's study and laid me across a hospital grade bed that he had set up. I immediately recognized it as the bed that my mother had given birth to me on.

The sheets smelled of bleach. There were two pillows beneath my head and one under my knees. "Okay, baby. Try and stay calm. Deep breaths." He took a deep breath, showing me what he wanted. "Deep breaths" I copied his example, willing myself to calm down. The pain had momentarily subsided.

I was able to complete a sentence without taking a screaming break, "Jake, I don't hurt anymore. Maybe I was mistaken; maybe I'm just really hungry…" I trailed off as Jacob put a finger over my mouth.

"That was a contraction. I think we should stay here until everyone gets back, just to make sure." He interjected.

_How does he know this? How did he know what to do?_ I wondered. "Honey, how do know all of these things?"

He smiled sheepishly, embarrassed. "I've been talking with Carlisle after you were asleep, and I've been reading baby books." He looked at his feet.

_Why should he be embarrassed? It is so romantic, I am the luckiest girl in the world._ "So…where do you find books on the spawn of werewolves and half-vampires?" I questioned, trying to lighten the mood.

"Har. Har." He retorted. The corner of his mouth twisted up in a smirk. "How can you joke at a time like this?"

"I told you that I think it was a…_Oh!_" The pain was beginning to return crunching in my stomach.

Jake looked at the watch that was around his wrist. "Four minutes." He stated, as if that was supposed to mean something to me. Before I could ask what he meant, Edward was at my side breathing hard from panic.

"I ran as fast as I could, the others will be here in a few seconds. Do you need anything?" He wedged himself in front of Jacob as he took my hand. His stone face was creased in concern.

I leaned to look around him at my doting husband. He was demonstrating the "deep breathing" again, and I followed his lead. I gripped Edwards hand tightly. Twenty seven breaths later, the pain subsided again. Jake pressed a button on his watch when he saw my body relax. "Dad, Jake has been taking very good care of me."

Edward turned, meeting Jacob's eyes. "Thank you, Jake." He whispered as the rest of his hunting companions began streaming in. Mom took the side opposite Jacob and Dad. Carlisle grabbed his bag and removed his stethoscope. Esme was rubbing Alice's back, comforting her. Clearly she blamed herself for not seeing this.

"Edward, she is my wife, remember?" Jacob responded to Edward's thank you. "It's my job to take care of her." He finished his thought.

Edward gritted his teeth at something unsaid, "She will always be my little girl." He hissed.

"Okay, Jake, Alice, and Bella may stay with her – per her requests. Everyone else can wait in the family room." Carlisle ordered in his authority figure voice. Esme approached Edward and softly removed his hand from mine as they went to the family room to wait. Esme already had her little silver phone in hand, preparing to call the rest of the family, no doubt.

Grandpa Carlisle pressed the stethoscope against my large stomach and smiled. "Amazing." He looked up at me to explain, "I am so happy for you and Jake." He continued listening and prodding for a minute. "Okay, Ness, I'm going to have to check to see if I can see one of the babies heads. Put your feet here." He pointed to the stirrups at the end of the table, "and scoot down so your near the end of the bed" He had already positioned a small table, covered in the same sheets, at the bottom of the bed. On it rested several shiny metallic items, gauze, and bandages.

He quickly popped back up and smiled at the crowd surrounding me before meeting my curious eyes. Jacob rested in a chair on the same side as my mother. Alice and Bella each had one of my hands. "I am happily surprised." He commented. "Your body appears to stretch as needed. You are fully dilated." He shook his head, still disbelieving. "and the first baby is crowning."

The pain swept over me again. "Your having another contraction, Reneesme" Carlisle informed calmly. "I need you to push. Your baby needs you to push…gently. Good, just like that."

Time stretched on. I was thankful that I had that short nap earlier. My hair was plastered to my head from sweat and my rock solid legs felt like jello. I was pushing yet again, when something gave way. Carlisle was vigorously rubbing something between a striped blanket. He smiled up at me. "It's a boy."

I reached for my son. I could hear his heart beating in his chest. He wasn't like me, he was soft and dark – like Jake._ Oh thank God_ I thought. He had short black hair, deep dark eyes, and full lips. "Hello William" I crooned.

"William?" Jacob asked. We hadn't discussed names, we both decided to name him after he was born.

"Yes, for your father. I know, I know, he was Billy…but that's a nickname for William." I smiled up at him. He was clearly relieved that it was his child. Bella took him and raced to the basin of warm water beside us to wash all the blood from him. No need for extra temptation. She emptied it out the window, wrapped William in a clean blanket, and handed him to Jacob. She then ran to the bathroom with the now empty basin to refill it.

Time ticked by. The contractions returned, and I began pushing for my other baby. Nearly four hours into it, my second baby popped out. Carlisle began the same process as before. "It's a girl." He smiled as he handed her to me.

"Hello, Ambrosia." I leaned in to kiss her head. It was cold and hard, like me. Her skin was pale and her eyes were dark – black. Her mouth held perfect white teeth. Her hair was like mine, and I tried to convince myself that she was just more like me. The closer I looked, the more I saw features that were not mine and were not Jake's. _How could this happen?_ I wondered. The beautiful girl in my arms was fathered by the incubus, Liam.


	14. Gift

**A/N: I don't own the rights to the characters as always. Thank you so much for the response to the last chapter! It is always an inspiration to go that much faster**

**Chapter Fourteen: Gift  
**

It had been a week since I had given birth to my sweet, little babies: William and Ambrosia. I was 36 weeks pregnant when they were born, so they were tiny little things. Since they were twins, however, they were considered full term and were declared completely healthy. At this morning's check-up, William weighed 6 pounds 7 ounces and was 17 inches long. Ambrosia was 5 pounds 14 ounces and was 16 inches long. They were both back up to their birth weight, and Carlisle assured us that they were healthy and growing at an average rate, to which we breathed a collective sigh of relief. We were fairly sure in our assumption that there was no precedence for werewolf/half-vampire babies.

I had returned to my pre-pregnancy state only a day after the birth. My skin returned to hard granite; it was no longer stretchable. To look at me, you would never know that I had ever been pregnant, and that fact in itself made me ecstatic. I found myself admiring my figure in the mirror more than Aunt Rose. I couldn't get over how skinny I was, and swore that I would never take my figure for granted again.

Jacob was the epitome of the doting father and husband. He held and played with them more than anyone else, much to the disappointment of the rest of my family. Rosalie was tickled pink that she would have more time with them as babies; she had been upset that I had grown up so quickly, and continuously pointed this out to me...as if it were my fault. Emmett sang ridiculous songs to them while making faces, establishing himself as the fun Uncle. Jasper was very protective of them, insisting that Alice check on their future every few hours, and always keeping them at an arms length. He still didn't trust himself. Carlisle and Esme cherished any time that we gave them with our babies. Esme cooed constantly about how beautiful they were. I had never been so happy in my life, so...relieved to have _that_ responsiblity.

My parents chose to support us by taking a back seat. I often saw Bella fidgeting until Edward would lean in close to whisper some secret in her ear. I'm sure he heard my constant jealous thoughts. Everyone got to hold my babies more than I did. I rarely even got to feed them except in the middle of the night. I insisted that they stay with Jacob and I in our room, much to the chagrin of everyone else.

William would eat anything that you gave him. He preferred blood, but would also drink baby formula; however, Ambrosia would only drink blood. She screamed when we first tried to give her formula. I had expected so much, as did Edward. He had heard my thoughts, and knew the suspicions that I held about her. Tension floated in the air around my daughter. My parents had clued Carlisle in on the situation months ago, so he would know what to expect if the babies were clearly not Jake's, and Alice had a vision of them telling Carlisle about it so she knew as well. Jasper felt the guilt rolling off me the night of the attack, and the self-loathing every time that Rose and Emmett, who were still in the dark about what had happened on my walk after the anniversary party, speculated on why Ambrosia was more vampire than her brother. We had to give him the abridged version. I hated that so many in my family knew my tale of tragedy, but at the same time was upset that Rose and Emmett were out of the loop.

William whimpering at the end of the bed shook me from my reverie. "Honey…" Jacob slurred, still half asleep. He must have heard him as well. "…baby's awake." He finished his sentence a minute later, when I was already out of the bed. We had been trading off on feedings, since I clearly couldn't breastfeed – it was my turn now.

I reached into the bassinet and lifted William, hugging him to my chest. "Oh, sweet boy. Are we hungry?" I cooed kissing the dark fluff on his head. Ambrosia stirred in her sleep as my hand brushed her cold skin. Her eyes blinked open and held my gaze. She smiled sweetly and reached out for me. _She's too young to do that_ I thought. I scooped her up with my other arm and quietly left the room. The second floor was quiet - _good, I'm not interrupting anything…embarrassing _I thought as I gracefully skipped to my parents bedroom and tapped on it with my elbow.

"Come in, Renesmee" my mother answered. She must have heard our hearts beating.

"Her hands are full, love" Edward whispered to her. I heard him quickly tread across the room.

"Oh." She spoke in the same second that Edward opened the door for me.

"I hear you have something that you want to talk to me about." He shifted his gaze to the quiet babies in my arms and raised an eyebrow. "Interesting." He murmured.

"I'm sure you know what I am curious about." I hesitated, waiting for a response. When I received none, I continued with my request, "What is Ambrosia thinking? She is advanced isn't she?"

I heard the gasp from Bella as I finished my sentence. She was curled up on the couch that Edward must have just been sitting on. He took Ambrosia and walked over to my mother, reclaiming his seat next to her. "Hmmph" He stifled a laugh. "She's angry with you, Ness." He looked up smiling until he saw how his words upset me. What had I done to make her hate me? He continued quickly, "She doesn't like pretending to sleep while you do. She wants you to be awake so she can play."

"Oh. _Oh_" I smiled despite my concerns. "Can you hear William too?" I knew what the answer would be, but I still needed to know. "Is he pretending with her?"

"No, I can't hear him, but she says that he does sleep. She tried playing with him the first night, but all he wanted to do was sleep. If you'd like, we can keep her in here at night. I'm sure your mother would love that." Bella smiled eagerly. I nodded in assent. He continued with his analysis, cautiously, "Apparently, the only organ that she uses is her heart. Everything else is vampire…" he trailed off. He sighed, looking down.

"What is it? There's something else isn't there?" I anxiously asked. She was glancing around the room, until her golden eyes met the bottle in my hand. I had been giving them both animal blood from the beginning. William's eyes didn't change according to thirst the way hers did; his remained dark like Jacob's. Edward giggled, "she wants the bottle, Ness."

"Dad, don't change the subject," I popped the bottle in William's mouth. His eyes closed as he began sucking quietly.

"She doesn't think that Jacob is her father…" Edward whispered cautiously, making sure he was only loud enough that Bella and I could hear. "While she was in you, she could apparently tap into your mind. She thinks she is like…Liam." He spit the name angrily.

I sighed and looked over to her, "Ambrosia, Jacob and I love you very much. You are special because God gave you to us. Liam may have been a bad man, but I can already tell that you are _nothing_ like him." William's sucking slowed as he fell back asleep nestled in my arms.

Ambrosia extended her hand toward me; towards the bottle. Suddenly it flew across the room landing gently into her hands. She thrust it into her mouth and began sucking violently. We all gasped, amazed. Bella smiled widely, "She has a gift."


	15. A Little Sibling Rivalry

**A/N: Disclaimer: I still don't have the rights to the characters, yada yada yada.**

**Chapter Fifteen: A Little Sibling Rivalry**

There was no way that I was getting to sleep any time soon. My daughter was ¾ vampire, was advancing like I had, and had a gift – telekinesis. I would have to have Carlisle start checking her measurements more often. Ambrosia was so special. _William… _I thought. _What if he becomes jealous? What if he doesn't have any special gifts, and she has all these wonderful capabilities? _A single tear fell down my cheek when I thought of the child that Jacob and I created feeling inferior to anyone. In all realities Ambrosia was a mistake; a terrible accident. My emotions battled against each other: guilt for thinking that Ambrosia is a mistake, an pride in her gift; extreme happiness at having a mostly human boy with the ability to have a normal life, and at the same time terror that he would be hurt easily. _Oh god, if he is soft and human will he __**die? **_Of course he would die. He would grow old, the way that he was supposed to. My heart ached at the thought of outliving my son, and the single tear turned into many.

"Nessie, you have a lot on your mind. Why don't you leave them with us…get a good nights sleep." Edward reached out patting my shoulder. I nodded in assent, handing William to Bella.

"He should be okay until morning, Mom. If you need me let me know." I leaned down kissing him on the forehead, "I love you, Will. You are very special too – one of a kind." I smiled. I could make both of my one-of-a-kind children feel special. I could do this. I reached out an ran a finger down Ambrosia's cheek. "And I love you, Amber. You are truly a gift from God, never doubt and never forget."

I sneaked back into my room quietly, so as not to wake Jacob. He was snoring softly. I crawled into the bed, snuggling into Jacob's side. His warmth intensified mine making the bed cozy, and his snoring was like a lullaby. I quickly fell asleep.

I had the dream from the island again, but in the moment it was very real. It wasn't a dream. The only difference this time was that it wasn't Liam, but it might as well have been. I stood protectively in front of this cowering human boy. The strange vampire was a woman this time.

_"He is just a boy!" I spoke through gritted teeth to the female monster in front of me. "I won't let you have him!" I wrapped myself around the wobbly toddler like I had in the other dream._

_"You can't keep him from me…you can't protect him forever, and I will find him you know. Now that I know about him, I won't rest until I have him." She spoke. The words were a little different than before, but not any less frightening. She raised an eyebrow and leaned back against a nearby tree. "I have nothing but time…" she continued._

_I turned my face from the being in front of me to the scared boy that I protected. Repeating the words of before, I relaxed my face and smiled softly, "Sweetie, where's your daddy?"_

_He pointed deeper into the forest._

_"What were you doing way out here," I questioned. "There are more suitable places to hike," I trailed off._

_He looked into my eyes and I into his. The sunlight glittered off his dark eyes and hair. He was truly beautiful. "Daddy go hunt," he stammered. Clearly he wasn't speaking well yet either. "I don't wanna…I run away and change." He continued._

"NESS!" The scream woke me from the terrible dream. I shot straight up in bed and looked to the window. It couldn't be more than 5 in the morning. The sheets were tangled around my sweat covered body and my pillow had fallen on the floor. I was about to lay back down to sleep when the door slammed open and my parents burst in. I involuntarily grabbed the sheets, pulling them up over my pajama top. Ambrosia was sitting up in my mothers arms, her brow creased in worry. _She was sitting up already?_ I followed her gaze, slowly understanding that there was a problem.

I jumped from the bed, flying to Edward. "What's wrong?" I shouted. My parents looked like they had just eaten the family cat. I reached out to my baby boy. He looked like he was still asleep, but as my hand touched his cheek – I realized it was something else. His body was cold, ice cold. I grabbed him up. He was freezing and solid – his skin didn't give. "_What did you do to him!" _I screamed. Jacob jumped up at my scream and groggily rub his eyes. The room was suddenly full of the rest of my family. In my peripheral view, I could see Jacob's eyes taking in the situation in front of him before his eyes fell on William's pale, lifeless body. I pulled his tiny body close to me, hoping to warm him. I began shaking as I realized I could hear Ambrosia's heart, Jacob's, and my own…but not William's.

My mother answered from the doorway, "We laid him down to sleep. I went over to check on him and he was cold. That's when we…" she trailed off, her mouth gaped as she stared at the cold, lifeless body in my arms. I looked at my daughter, Ambrosia. She was reaching out for her brother. I tilted my head down to kiss my son.

Two dark eyes stared up at me and he giggled. Every body in the room relaxed infinitesimally and began nervously glancing at each other, slowly joining in the soft laughter of my very alive son. His body was still cold and hard in my arms and his heart was still silent. _How?_

Suddenly _both _of my two children were mysteries to me. Ambrosia was sitting up in Bella's arms, smiling now. William was smiling and giggling – something he shouldn't be doing for a month. Not even to mention the new gift that Ambrosia had and the situation with Will. "Could you give us some time alone?" I asked of the crowd in our room. "I'm sure Jake agrees with me," I looked at him and he nodded, "We would like to spend some quality time with our babies."

"Of course." Esme answered softly laying a hand on each child and breathing deeply. Her brow furrowed slightly as she kissed them and then left the room.

"If you need anything, please yell." Bella added as she brought Ambrosia to Jacob. The herd filed one-by-one up to me, kissing William, or rubbing his face. Just as quickly as the problem had begun, it was over and we were alone with our children.

Jacob was in my arms, hugging me. We both shook uncontrollably. My gut-wrenching sobs were matched with his. William's body began to warm in my arms, his skin started to give under my fingers, and I could hear his heart begin to flutter again.

"What the…" I exclaimed, thoroughly confused again.

The door to the room burst open again, this time it was only my father there. "I can hear his thoughts, Nessie. He didn't want his sister to outshine him and get all the attention. He has a gift, too." He announced as a smile spread across his face.

**A/N: It would be super awesome if you could review. The response has slowed down the further along the story gets, and well...that makes me sad. Sad author=slower update time.**


	16. Boys are trouble

**Chapter Sixteen: Boys are trouble  
**

The first four months of my children's lives were peaceful – given the circumstances. That was when they reached their terrible two's according to Carlisle's testing and measurements. Their growth was slowing, but their minds continued to blossom. Up until then Ambrosia had used her gift rarely, and usually listened when we told her no. The extent and dynamics of William's gift was still a mystery. Edward said that Will wasn't aware of his gift, and wasn't sure what triggered it. His heart would randomly stop and his body would become cold and hard, but his demeanor wouldn't change. He could be laughing, crying, or sleeping when it would happen.

At least, that was the way it was until recently.

"NO! My tun again!" Ambrosia's soft little voice rang out as I entered the house. She still had trouble with her 'r's. Jacob was watching the twins while us girls went out shopping and doing other girly things. Alice had insisted that we all go with her and get our hair done after extending our wardrobe. The scene surrounded Jacob made me smile; I pressed my lips together tightly to stifle a laugh. Rose cracked one loud laugh before I shot her a glare. I wanted to observe Jacob's parenting skills when he thought I wasn't looking. There was no way he could have heard our entry with the chaos around him.

Jacob was on his hands and knees on the floor. Ambrosia had leapt onto Jacob's back where William sat. She gently pushed him off, he was currently human and a hard push could have killed him, and began kicking Jake in the sides. "Giddy up," she roared. "Go, Daddy. Wun!" William righted himself and began jumping up smacking his sister. Of course, it didn't bother her – it probably felt like he was tapping her on the shoulder.

"Amber! Daddy said my turn!" William yelled at his sister.

"Will, I moe special. Huwwy, Daddy! GO!" Ambrosia screamed. Her gaze shot across the room to a sofa cushion laying on the floor, then turned so she was glaring at William. The cushion flew across the room at him at break neck speed. I felt my heart skip in my chest as I jerked my body in the direction of my little hellions. At that moment, William's heart stopped beating, he jumped up escaping the wrath of the cushion, and hit his sister on the arm. She flew off Jacob's back, landing roughly on the couch 7 feet 4 inches across the room. My jaw dropped as I dropped my bags down on the floor and stomped over to the rioting twins. Jacob jumped up. He looked like a cartoon as he whipped his head back and forth between his children, with a confused look on his face.

I grabbed Ambrosia up and sat her on the couch. I squatted down and looked her square in the face. "Young lady, you are _no_ more special than your brother. You are _both_ special in your own ways. You should be nice to him; he's the only brother you've got." I said with my eyebrows pushed up and sharp movements of my head as I emphasized important words. I wanted her to know I was angry and that her behavior was simply unacceptable.

Ambrosia stuck her bottom lip out in a pout, but I refused to let it work on me. "Mommy, I sowwy." She dropped her eyes and peered up at me through her lashes. _Who has been teaching her these things?_

"You go help your aunts with their bags." I nodded at the audience near the door. "And then you get to sit in your room thinking about what you did and why you are there." I stood as she made her way across the room, and out of the corner of my eye I noticed William began creeping toward the stairs. "And you mister," I whipped around. He stopped mid-stride, frozen, and turned his eyes to me. He slowly brought his feet together and turned to face me, ready for punishment. "Don't fight with you sister, there is more than enough Daddy for you two to share." I leaned against Jacob. My head barely reached his bicep. "You get to clean up this mess," I gestured with my arms at the variety of toys cluttering the floor, "and then we need to discuss your gift."

I could hear Ambrosia giggling with Rosalie as I grabbed Jacob's hand, leading him upstairs. He released my hand and reached his arm around my waist. "It's so hot when you take charge." He whispered against my ear while playfully swatting me on the rear. He continued nipping at my ear and unabashedly groping me with the hand on my hip. When we stopped at my parents' door, Jacob gave me a puzzled look. He must have thought we were going to do something else upstairs. _Typical man..._ I thought. It is very good being married to a man who is frozen in his sexual and physical prime, but now was not the time. I shrugged out of Jake's grasp, reclaiming his hand.

The door opened as I reached for the knob. Of course, Edward heard my thoughts and knew we were coming to see him.

"So," he started, smiling. "I assume you want to know what your son was thinking when he threw his sister across the room?" Bella met him at the door in an instant, wearing one of his wrinkled shirts and a gray pair of cotton shorts. She had missed a button at the top, setting the shirt askew across her chest.

"Come in, dears." She motioned to us. I pointedly looked at her shirt and then back at her face, hoping to wordlessly relay my message. Her eyes widened and she dipped her head down as she chewed on her bottom lip. Daddy said it was a habit from when she blushed all the time. She took a step behind her Edward, and seconds later reappeared looking slightly less post-coital.

"Actually, I think we need to discuss this with the whole family. Dad, since I am sure that you already know what my theory is, would you mind watching the kids…after you tell me what he was thinking?" I grabbed their arms, pulling them toward the staircase.

Edward jumped right in to the discussion. "This particular time, he was angry at Ambrosia when something in his brain just clicked." He snapped his fingers. "It was like the conditions were suddenly right, and he chose or was able to change himself. I don't know why it happened, or why it has happened the other times though." His diagnosis confirmed my assumptions. "Hm, that makes sense…" Edward added on after 'hearing' the full extent of my theory concerning William.

"Can some one _please _clue me in?" Jacob asked angrily.

"Patience, sweetie." I wrapped my arm through his and continued down the stairs soundlessly.

I skipped through the living room, leaving Dad behind with the kids. I was not at all surprised when I saw the rest of the family around our enlarged table, waiting for us. Jacob and Bella took a seat, but I remained standing beside my chair.

"I have a theory." I spoke up addressing everyone. "It dawned on me when Amber went flying across the room." I gestured with my hand towards the living room where everything had gone down. All eyes were on me, making me more self-conscious than usual. "When Jacob initially became a werewolf, he couldn't control it when he phased, and he didn't know what was going on either." I sighed, easing in to my theory.

"I think Will has taken after his father on that ability…and after me with what he changes into. I think that instead of changing from superhuman to werewolf, he changes from human to vampire. I think it may have a little bit to do with his environment too, but I'm not real sure...The first time he did this, he was surrounded by vampires. When he was back with me and Jacob, he became human again. Today, when the room became filled with vampires, the circumstances were right for him to change." I concluded, shrugging and blowing out a gust of air.

Everyone gasped at the realization. Bella bit her lip, and then reached out to take my hand. "Renesmee, this means he can have a normal life. He can be around humans easily once he stops growing." She smiled anxiously; full of hope.

"Oh my gosh," whispered Jake. "It makes perfect sense, in an abnormal, half-vampire, whole vampire, werewolf kind of way." He coughed a throaty laugh.

I looked around the table, taking in the expressions on my family's faces. Some were confused, others were surprised, but when I looked to Jacob I knew his expression matched mine. We were overly proud of our gifted children. "Ness, can I take him hunting?" Jacob questioned anxiously. Jacob hadn't been able to enjoy this activity with him – as he was too fragile. "I want to show him how." William dashed into the room with the same look on his face that his father had. They both had a huge grin on their face and their eyes sparkled with excitement.

I nodded in assent. He jumped up, grabbing William, and bolting out the door before I changed my mind, I assumed. The family dispersed, Edward and Carlisle continued discussing my theory, while Bella, Alice, and I took Ambrosia back to the family room.

We were playing Barbie's on the floor. "I like it when you play with me, Alice. Will nebeh plays Bahbie's wight." Ambrosia pouted.

"What do you expect, Amber? He is just a boy." Alice rolled her eyes at the word boy. They laughed quietly, but I didn't. Something about that sentence caught my attention. The words began clicking together in my large brain.

"Oh god," I whispered. The dream began playing back in my mind. I was leaning over my son yelling at a strange vampire. I vaguely heard Alice gasp and saw her eyes glaze over as a vision flashed before her eyes.

Edward was at my side as I sprinted in the direction of Jacob's trail. Tears streamed along my face, stinging in the wind. "Dad, we need to run faster, I have to make it in time."


	17. Falling Away With You

**A/N: Nope, still don't own the characters or Twilight settings. **

**Chapter Seventeen: Falling away with you.  
**

"Dad, I need you to go to Jacob. See if William is there. I'm going where my dream took place." I grabbed my father's hand and sent him a vision of the area. We diverged, he continued following the scent of William and Jacob west, while I headed further south to the clearing embedded in my worst nightmare. I would reach the clearing before Edward got to Jake, as it was closer to the house.

Leaves and twigs whipped by my face, small branches catching on my legs and arms. I knew from years of interaction with humans that the feeling should hurt, but instead they felt like feathers hitting against my body. I pushed harder. Faster. I didn't stay to see what happened in Alice's vision, but I refused to believe that anything could happen to my boy. I refused to accept that I may be too late. _I changed the future. I ran to him. I made a decision after her vision began._ I could feel the slight chill on my face from the tears that trailed down my cheeks. The fear was overwhelming, and physically overflowed from my body out of my eyes. I burst through the clearing and stopped, snapping my head from side to side as I listened for a threat. There was no one…yet. I couldn't be sure that he was safe though. I closed my eyes, concentrating on my other senses – searching for my baby boy.

I caught William's scent traveling south-east. _Why is he wandering further from the house?_ _ He should have gone_ _north-east from Jacob's hunting grounds. Why...? _I internally questioned. He burst through the group of trees just as a strong scent assaulted me from the trees just to the north of the clearing. There was the scent of a vampire that I didn't recognize, and the sound of its footsteps were approaching rapidly.

"William, what are you doing!" I hissed under my breath. He was human as in my dream. It was too late to run now. The vampire stopped short across the clearing when she caught my scent. Her lips twitched as she continued walking slowly towards me. She was beautiful, but that fact should not surprise me. She had dark brown hair, the closest to a true black that I had ever seen, that hung straight beside her perfectly shaped cheekbones. Her body was thin, yet shapely at the same time. Her curves were that of a young adult...around 24 I would guess. She wore a pair of olive-green capri's and a white t-shirt. She would have been enticingly beautiful to a human, besides her blood red eyes and ghostly pale lips.

I threw myself in front of William and crouched into a protective stance, pushing him out of the way. I looked up to see the vampire leaning on a tree no more than ten feet from us. An instinctive growl erupted from my chest even though it was neither of the vampires from my dream. _Dad, I found William, but we need you_! I shouted in my head. The woman in front of me cocked her head to the side as she took in my protective stance. How could any one feel comfortable taking a child's life away?

"He is just a boy!" I spoke through gritted teeth to the monster in front of me. "I won't let you have him!" I wrapped my body around the frame of my son. He wobbled slightly, but didn't show the appropriate amount of fear. I touched his face, telling him to stay behind me.

"You can't keep him from me…you can't protect him forever you know." She spoke matter-of-factly. She raised an eyebrow and reached up to scratch her temple. "I have nothing but time…" she continued.

I turned my face from the being in front of me to the sweet boy behind me, but I kept an eye on the monster across from us. I didn't want to scare him. I relaxed my face and smiled softly, "Sweetie, where's your daddy?"

My question seemed to incite fear more than the vampire in front of us. He glanced down at his feet and pointed deeper into the forest.

"What were you doing way out here," I questioned. "There are more suitable places to hike," I trailed off. Now was not the time to scold him for wandering.

He looked into my eyes and I into his. The sunlight glittered off his dark eyes and hair. His beauty always stopped me short. "Daddy go hunt," he stammered. "I don't wanna…I run away and change." He continued. Anger filled my vision. _What kind of low life just lets their kid wander off in the middle of no where!_ I would rip Jacob to shreds when I saw him again.

"Dear, what is your name?" she questioned, then quickly rolled her eyes. "I'm Priscilla. Why do you protect this boy?" She continued.

"He's my son," I spoke clearly. I knew my short sentence was enough of an answer, but I wanted her to know who was ripping her to shreds. "…and I am Renesmee."

The warmth coming off of my son disappeared as did the sound of his heart. "What kind of freak show are you running?" The woman whispered, backing away. My son ducked his head between my legs, peering out.

I caught Jacob and Edward's scent a fraction of a second before this other vampire did. Her eyes grew wide, and then she turned and sprinted away from our home. I sighed, relieved.

Jacob blew past me. Almost immediately metallic tearing could be heard. High pitched screaming accompanied it. Only seconds after the noise began it was over. A strangled howl met my ears, but it wasn't a howl of victory.

"Hurry, dear. Jacob is hurt." Edward's face was cold and detached as he reached for William. "I'm taking him home – you go to Jake. I'll send Carlisle and your Mom to help with him." Then he was gone. I followed the smoke beacon ahead of me in a straight line. Why was my world falling apart? I finally had everything that I wanted, and now the world threatened to wrench it from my grasp.

For the second time today, I found myself running full force towards danger, towards an uncertainty. I ran to save the little piece of happiness that I had miraculously been given without even trying. He was the one simple thing in my life, and I couldn't loose him now that I had just gotten him back.

When I reached him, his body lay limp in a pile of bloody leaves and grass. He was no longer in wolf form. His russet skin looked unnaturally pale. _I can't wait for Carlisle. He'll bleed to death. _I thought quickly. My head began spinning as I looked over his torn body. I sniffed for danger. I could smell a piece of Priscilla that had not yet been burnt. A trail of blood led to two stone arms holding Jacob's lower leg.

I tore the arms away from the bleeding body part and threw them into the flames. My mind was in survival mode as I ran back to Jacob's body with the torn leg. As I stood over Jacob's body, panicked, I felt my mother's hand on my shoulder and Carlisle on my other side. Carlisle immediately squatted beside Jacob with him bag and set to work.

Bella pulled grabbed the sides of my face, "Renesmee, Jacob will be fine. He won't give up because he has so much to fight for." She then pulled me to her in a bone-crushing hug.

"Ness, Bella, we need to get him back to the house to heal," Carlisle's voice interrupted my sobs. I turned back to look at Jacob. Carlisle had stitched his leg back into place. He saw where my eyes were locked. "Since Jacob heals quickly, I have reason to hope that his leg can reattach." He smiled encouragingly. "But we have to get him home." He looked at my mother, "Bella?"

Together they lifted Jacob and began running home. I ran beside him, holding his limp hand in mine. _I love you, stay with me. I love you, stay with me._ I thought over and over.

"Try not to worry, dear." Carlisle whispered soothingly. "He knows you love him."

I realized that I had been whispering my mantra aloud. "I love you, Jake. Stay with me."

* * *

**So, if you love me...REVIEW!** **I'm sorry that I haven't been sending out previews of the next chapter, but I swear that I will for the next one. **


	18. Old Acquaintances

**Chapter Eighteen : Old acquaintances  
**

It had been a week since the attack in the woods, according to my parents. I had laid my head down on the cot in our room in regular intervals; closing my eyes when the sun set and opening them when it rose again. Carlisle continued to give Jake pain-killers and sedatives to keep him from waking up and moving too much until he was healed. William and Ambrosia couldn't understand why Daddy wouldn't wake up and play with them, so the rest of the family were taking turns keeping them occupied. I stayed by his side as the rest of the family flitted in and out, checking on both of us. I had been so angry with him before this happened, and the guilt of that feeling weighed heavy on my conscious. Jacob lay unconscious on our bed, and I sat awkwardly on the cot that had been moved into the room. I could hear my babies playing downstairs, Ambrosia squealing with delight at something that Uncle Jasper had said. I felt the steady vibrations of William's heart fluttering through the air, like a butterflies wings. My eyes stayed trained on Jake, looking for any sign of discomfort, or any indication that he was waking up.

I smelled my mother's scent as she entered the room, stopping just inside the doorway. "Sweetheart?" She spoke in hushed tones, trying to catch my attention. Everyone acted like he was just asleep and they didn't wanted to wake him. I begrudgingly turned my body to face her, while keeping my peripherals focused on my husband. "I think you should go see his pack…err…his La Push friends." She paused expecting an argument, but I was simply too worn down. "They have been calling constantly since…last week." I could tell she was going to say attack, but considered her words before she spoke them.

"Mom, I don't think I could leave him now. He needs me." I _knew_ I couldn't leave him, and it had nothing to do with his need for me. _I_ needed _him_. I turned my head back to his broken figure, keeping my body angled towards my mother. My eyes swept over his knee to the spot where his leg had once ended. Grandpa had stitched it back on after cleaning both sides of the wound, hoping to hold it in place as it fused back together. Carlisle, in doctor mode, was ecstatic that the appendage was still alive at all - that it seemed that blood still flowed in and out of it.

"Carlisle says that he will be out a few more days, until the bone and flesh is healed enough to please him." Her argument was weak, and there was no way that I was leaving him. She must have realized that and attempted another angle. "Jacob would want you to keep them in the loop, especially with nomadic Vampires in the area. His father would probably like to see you again, too." I had nearly forgotten that Priscilla wasn't alone. Dad and Emmett had tracked her trail leading to a small coven heading North.

I sighed, giving in. I needed to get out of here, to regain perspective. These four walls were closing in on me. I looked at the clock on the bedside table; it was 6:19 AM. I hadn't fed since before _everything_ happened, and would need to do that before I left. "Ok. I'll go hunt now, and be there by nine. I'll be back tonight."

"Renesmee, stay the night there. You'll be rested and you can come back first thing in the morning. I'm sure Billy would love the time with his grandchildren." She raised her eyebrows as she tilted her head back towards the stairs that led to the lower level - to my babies.

I had forgotten that Billy hadn't seen them since the week that they were born. He _would_ like to see them. They were growing so fast and he was missing out on so much.

***

We drove to La Push. I would have run, but Ambrosia and William could never have kept up, and it slowed me to carry them both. I slowed as we reached the La Push border. The treaty had changed so many years ago to benefit both parties. The werewolves were allowed on Cullen land, and we were allowed on the reservation. This was the twin's first visit here, and they were practically vibrating in their carseats. In the past few months, Billy had traveled down to Astoria to visit them.

I stepped out of the little Hennessey Venom GT and grabbed Amber and Will out of their car seats. "Hiya, Billy!" I shouted to him as he appeared in the doorway. I was surprised by how much this trip had lifted my spirits.

"Hey, Nessie. It's so good to see you." He beamed brightly before looking to the toddlers hiding behind my legs. His eyes widened as the realization struck him that they were his grandchildren. "My, how you two have grown!" He belted, as he rolled closer. "You wanna ride with Grandpa in the house?" He patted his thighs before reaching forward for them.

Ambrosia and William peeked out, looking up to me questioningly. I nodded. "Yay!" They leaped onto his lap.

When Ambrosia landed against his torso he gasped. "Amber, you sure are solid." He set one on each leg, "Ness, would you mind pushing us in? I'll call Jacob's…friends when we get inside."

"Sure, sure _Grandpa_." I wheeled them up the ramp and into the door, shutting it behind me. "Okay, kids. Why don't you go to the bathroom, it was a long ride." I ushered them to the bathroom, hoping to get a minute alone with Billy.

As soon as they were out of the room I squatted beside his chair with my lips right beside his ear. Hopefully they wouldn't listen too hard. In a hushed tone Billy began the conversation, "Ness, what happened up there? Is Jacob going to be all right?"

I whispered into his ear, even quieter than he had been. "A vampire came at William while he was human." Billy quickly turned his head to me. _Ah, Jacob hadn't told him about William's gift…_ "Anyway, Jacob attacked her but got hurt in the fight – pretty bad. Carlisle has him under, but says he should wake up in a few days." I repeated the words that my mother had said to comfort me, hoping to give off the correct amount of confidence.

Ambrosia bounded into the room, shaking the whole house. "Mommy, Will bwoke something." She pointed to the door at the end of the hall that she just exited from, the bathroom. I sighed, expressing my apologies to Billy as I headed down the hall.

Quiet sobs reached me as I turned the handle on the door. "Baby, what's wrong?" I scooped him up in my arms looking over his body for a cut or bruise.

"Amber bet I couldn't change without getting mad." He hid his face in my hair. "I did, but I was holding the soap dish and I broke it." He pointed to the pile of dust on the bathroom rug at his feet.

I giggled a little despite his serious tone. He was so upset because he had broken a chipped, stained, off white soap dish? "Baby boy…" I cooed. "...first of all, don't let your sister get to you like that. Secondly, I'm very impressed that you could change on command. And finally, you need to apologize to Grandpa Billy for breaking his soap dish." I sat him down, kissed him on the forehead, and pointed him towards the open door.

"Hey, William! Oh, hi Nessie." The voice was a blast from the past – Embry. The front room was already crowded with men and women in their mid-thirties, all except Quil and Claire in their early twenties.

The ones that I could recognize were Sam and Emily (their son was in college now) standing closest to the door, Embry and Alicia with two girls: one around 5 and an infant sat on the floor playing, Quil and Claire cuddled on the couch in their own world, Jared and Kim with a 12 year old boy around the kitchen table, and Seth and Rachael leaning against the wall closest to me. There were others, but I couldn't recognize their faces; they had changed so much in the last twenty years. My assessment of the room took less than a second; no one would notice the pause before I spoke. "Hey, Embry. Hello everyone!"

The door flew open again and a seven year old boy trotted in. My eyes were glued to this beautiful boy, that is, until his parents walked in. A well-groomed man in his early thirties walked in behind the boy and grabbed him up. "Alrighty now, J.J. Sit down until the meeting is over."

"Why can't I go out and play with Michael?" He pointed to a boy across from him that looked to be his same age.

The vile creature from my nightmares so many years ago walked in behind the man and boy. Leah didn't appear as bitter as she once was; I'm sure it has something to do with her finally imprinting. _Could that be her son?_

"Because we said so." She smiled at the boy, ruffling his hair, and pointed him to a chair near the boy that he wanted to play with. She looked up at Billy, she still hadn't seen me. "Sorry, Billy. Daniel was out with J.J. and I couldn't get him on the phone." She explained her lateness. "So what's this all abou…" Before she could finish her sentence she saw me.

"Nice to see you, Leah." I spat bitterly. I turned to face the rest of the group, "Jacob was hurt protecting our son, William…" I pulled Will from where he hid behind my leg. His body was warm again. "…from a Vampire. Edward read her mind and saw that she was traveling with a small coven that was heading north. I thought you should know that they may be coming this way." I answered questions about why _I_ had come instead of Jacob, what exactly happened, and when he would be back to La Push.

Emily, Kim, and Alicia stepped into the kitchen to set the meal out that would follow the meeting. Strategy was discussed; apparently Jared's boy along with two other boys that I didn't know had made the transformation. Although there wasn't a permanent residence nearby, the visits by my family kept things in motion with the werewolves. The meeting broke up for the meal and afterwards the children went out to play. I gave Ambrosia and William strict orders to behave with the other kids before I sent them out.

Daniel, Leah's husband, approached me to introduce himself. "Hello, Renesmee. I am Daniel, Leah's husband." He smiled warmly. Clearly he didn't know too much about the problems that I had with his wife.

I shook his hand gently. He started at my hot skin. "Hello, Daniel. It's very nice to meet you. Please, call me Ness." I returned his smile. Seeing Jacob's friends was easier now that I had my own family. I hadn't been here in nearly nine years. I couldn't stand seeing the happy families, and Leah pushed my buttons too much. "I heard about you and Leah, but I didn't realize you two had been together so long." I nodded out the window to their son.

He bit his upper lip and laughed quietly, nervously. "Um, J.J. isn't my son." I refused to let my surprise show.

_Had Leah been married before?_

"She had him before we met." He continued, before I had to chance to ask my question. Obviously, this was a sore subject, and he didn't want to continue the conversation. I respected this, and didn't push him anymore.

Just then, the boy, J.J. bounded through the door headed straight towards Billy. "Can I spend the night with you, Grandpa?" He asked, excited. The room stopped around me, every face was either on me or Leah.

Billy held his smile as he looked over to me. "Ness, Amber, and Will are staying the night tonight." Every other face in the room disappeared except Billy, Ambrosia, William, and this J.J.; could that stand for Jacob, Jr.?

He looked to be seven. I knew that Jacob had an affair with Leah five years into our marriage, when we were fighting. I found out about it a few months later – Jacob's thoughts had given him away. He swore the affair was over. Only a few months later he stopped pushing for a baby. Was that because he already had one? I realized then why I had been so captivated by his beauty. He looked like a younger Jacob.

As the pieces came together, the room began to tilt at a strange angle. The room went black as I realized I was falling.

**A/N: So, what do you think? *hides* Surprised??? Also, the car that I mentioned is a concept car at the moment, and is pretty bitchin'. Google that shit. :)**


	19. Break Another Little Piece of My Heart

**A/N: I don't own the characters. This chapter is really a filler, there isn't much action involved.**

**Chapter Nineteen: Break another little piece of my heart  
**

"Nessie." A voice came to me like a soft light through the darkness that enveloped me. "Wake up, Nessie." The light became brighter, burning a hole in the middle of the thick blanket that covered me in unconsciousness. _What happened?_ I wondered, forcing my eyes open, and blinking as I adjusted to the light. Alice was bent over me with her eyebrows furrowed. "I told you she was waking up soon." She smugly said to someone else in the room.

"Alice, what happened? What's going on?" I questioned, glancing around confused. The room was unfamiliar, and smaller than any room at home. The curtains were yellowed with age and the bed that I lay on was not soft like the sheets that I was used to. "Where am I?" Alice pursed her lips as if to hold something in her mouth that wanted to escape. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a man in a chair, the person that she was talking to before. My eyes were still blurred, it looked like the chair was moving… "Oh, god." I whispered, realizing that the man was Billy. The reality of my situation fell down on me, attempting to force the thick black blanket of unconsciousness back over me.

Alice, seeing my expression pulled me into a quick hug. "Shhh, its okay, Ness." she murmured in my ear, low enough that only I could hear.

"Who is here?" I whispered, hoping that Jacob was no where near. I couldn't face him yet; at this point I was so angry with him that all logical reasoning went out the window.

"I saw you passing out while I was helping your mother with her wardrobe. I grabbed her and took off immediately, filling her in on what I had seen on the way here. Once we got here and talked to Billy, I called to tell everyone else that we went shopping." I breathed a sigh of relief; there was no need for anyone else to see my breakdown. I wanted to keep it as private as possible in my family. I grabbed her hand, sending her a silent 'thank-you'.

"Oh, baby. You're awake!" My mother rushed into the room at full speed, and grabbed my hands. "I was so worried for you." She hugged me close, squeezing unnaturally tight against her. I had a strange flashback to falling off a cliff in early childhood, and receiving the same treatment. Only this time, the 'boo-boo' was internal rather than external. She never did let me and Jacob wander down in La Push again.

Alice raised an eyebrow at Billy, "We asked Billy what happened, but he couldn't be sure." Alice then looked at me. "What happened?" I saw Billy roll himself from the room.

I pulled Bella close to me again to sob on her shoulder. They both were quiet for a few minutes, letting me express my feelings, before again asking what had happened. I scooted back, so my back was against the headboard of the bed.

"I was in the bathroom with Will," I started slowly in between sniffles. "anyway, when I came out, everyone involved in the werewolf secret was in the house for the meeting." Alice was nodding her head along. "I was explaining what happened when Leah came in with her husband and _son_." I spit the word. I truly didn't harbor bad feelings for the boy, but the idea of him made me sick to my stomach. I leaned forward and gripped the bridge of my nose.

"What did she do!" Bella hissed. She knew of the affair between Leah and Jacob, and even before then didn't like her.

"That's not it, Mom." I leaned back against the wall behind the bed again. "The meeting went well, we ate, and the kids were playing. _Oh no! Amber and Will! Where are they?_

Alice must have interpreted my expression and answered my question before I could ask it. "The twins went down to the beach with Seth and his wife. They are fine." She assured me. "Go on."

"Leah's son, JJ, came in the house and went up to Billy. He said 'Can I spend the night with you Grandpa?' I had been staring at the boy all day. I felt drawn to him, and when he said 'Grandpa' to Billy I realized it. He looked like Jacob." I put my head in my hands and broke down again. "I thought we didn't have secrets anymore." I sobbed, gasping for air. "I thought we were finally getting better."

"That little…I'll rip him to…" Bella growled beside the bed. She and I had exactly the same sentiment.

"Now is not the time, Leah." I heard Billy's raised voice from the front room.

I could hear her breathing and her heart beating on the other side of the front door. "I just want to talk to her, Billy. I don't think she understands. I thought Jake told her all this already?"

"Well apparently not, Leah. Go be with your family." He barked. I heard the door shut between them and the wheels of his chair rolling into the kitchen. "Jake shoulda talked about this with her…Jesus, everything's all messed up." He mumbled to himself.

Alice broke my internal tirade, "When Jake told you, what exactly did he say? Maybe he thought he told you."

I thought back to that discussion. Although my mind held everything forever, there were some things that I attempted to forget. I closed my eyes, "Um, well. Dad said he heard him thinking. He was debating whether to tell me about him and Leah. He said he wanted to rip him to shreds, but he knew I would be upset if he did."

"What were his exact thoughts?" Alice insisted.

"Um… 'I can't believe what Leah and I did. I was so involved at the moment that I didn't think, but now that it's over with…I'm terrified. A year of secret meetings…now it's over. Leah has what she wants. I should have told Nessie sooner.' Then that evening he said he had something to tell me. I said that I already knew, that I couldn't he would do this to me."

"Did the discussion go past there?" Alice asked.

"Um…no. He apologized. He said he didn't think that I would be so hurt. Idiot."

"That stupid DOG!" Bella growled again.

"Wait, Bella. His thoughts, 'A year of secret meetings…now it's over. Leah has what she wants.' Maybe what she wanted was a baby. Maybe she was using him, playing on his weakness." Alice suggested. "Perhaps he truly thought you knew…" She trailed off. It didn't make any difference. I thought I had been his only one. I thought that _our_ children were his _only_ children. How could we get past this?


	20. Revenge is a Bitch, Baby

**Chapter Twenty: Revenge is a Bitch, Baby.  
**

I asked Alice and Bella to get the kids so we could leave. I no longer wanted to stay the night in La Push, but it was for completely different reasons now. I wanted to be as far from Leah and her...and Jacob's...son as possible; I needed to get away. Alice went to put our things in the car while Bella gathered up the twins from their beach adventure with Seth. I _did_ feel bad for dragging them away from the fun that I was sure that they were having, and for denying them the promised time with their grandfather. I only hoped that they would eventually understand. I headed into the bathroom to clean up my face and nearly gasped at the girl in the mirror. Her eyes were cold, heartless, dead; her mouth was set in a hard line across her face; there was no expression on her face – it was like she was carved in stone.

I washed my face, attempting to erase the lines of tears, and brushed my hair back with my fingers to calm the frizz that accompanied the wet climate. I heard Billy's chair rolling across the floor and felt his heartbeat sending vibrations through the air as he reached the door to the bathroom. I thought about slamming it in his face, but immediately felt guilty for the thought. Billy didn't do anything wrong. In fact, he had stuck up for me with Leah earlier. Billy was just as much of a victim in this scenario as I was.

"Erm, Renesmee?" Billy spoke cautiously. I looked at him and he gasped. He was not expecting the constant glare that had settled on my face. "Uh…I…" He stammered, wide-eyed in the bathroom doorway.

I forced myself to soften, trying on a smile – it probably looked even more threatening. In that moment, I felt like I looked like the stereotypical, sadistic Vampire, smiling an evil smile at my prey - luring them in to my web before destroying them. "Sorry, Billy. I'm just tired of being hurt over and over again. I don't know how much more I can stand before I break." My eyes fell as my true feelings cracked through my mask for a minuscule second before I shoved it back. Jacob would no longer have any control over me. I wasn't his puppet anymore.

"Listen, Ness. I just want to say this" Billy's shook his head sadly. "No, I just need to say this." His head lifted to meet my gaze as his face tightened in determination. "When Leah told Jacob she was pregnant, I told him he needed to tell you." He rolled his eyes and spoke to himself, "He should have told you earlier…" Billy met my eyes again. "I told him that if you found out at another time that you would think he was hiding it. I thought he was going straight home to tell you…" He trailed off, confused. "Anyhow, JJ doesn't know. He doesn't have a grandpa, since Harry died before _you_ were even born. I didn't have any grandkids at the time, so I kind of became his adoptive grandpa. I feel awful either way." We stood (or in his case sat) there for a few moments, just letting the words linger in the air around us. "What ever happens from here, I want you to know that I still love you like a daughter. And I care more about those two grandbabies than I ever thought possible."

"Billy, it's nice that since you're his real granddad, you have taken an effort to be in his life – even if that's being his _fake_ granddad." I couldn't deny that Billy was doing his part for this boy. It seemed that J.J. was well adjusted in his life despite the screwed up situation that he entered the world. In the end of things, I never wanted that innocent boy to feel one ounce of heartache if it could be prevented.

He tilted his head, confused and gave me a strange look. "I don't really look at it like that." I started to ask him why, but we were interrupted by several voices and the front door slamming roughly in its old frame. Billy rolled into the hall and I followed him, eager to she the only good things in my life at the moment. I shook my head again, wondering where it all went wrong.

"Mommy! You awake!" Ambrosia rushed through the house and threw herself into my waiting arms.

William was right behind her, "We played at the beach, Mommy!" He wrapped his little arms around my legs and squeezed tightly. I genuinely smiled as I noticed that his grip was stronger than usual.

"Ouch, Will. You're strong! And you're getting better with your gift." I shifted Ambrosia to my hip and leaned down to look at him. It was easier to pretend everything was okay when surrounded by two loving creatures that were obviously so happy to see me. "Let's go home, babies." I sat Ambrosia down, releasing all of her except her little right hand. I stretched my other hand out to William, who happily took it and bounded off towards the front yard. "Tell Granddad bye!" I stopped just outside the door and leaned down to give Billy a hug. "Thank you for everything, Granddad Billy." He knew that I was talking about more than allowing us to have the get together at his house.

"Bye Bye Granddaddy!" William climbed into the chair with Billy and wrapped his little arms around his waist. "I love you!" He kissed Billy on the cheek.

"Love you too, munchkin." Billy smirked at his sort-of name sake, and kissed him on the forehead. He lifted Will off of him and sat him back down onto the ground before motioning Ambrosia closer. "Come here, angel." He whispered as he lifted her up into his lap.

"Gwandaddy." Ambrosia pouted into his neck. "I don't wanna go." She hugged herself tighter to him until he started gasping for air.

"Too...Tight...." Billy sputtered, to which Ambrosia ducked her head and leaned away.

"I'll see you soon, baby." He kissed her on the head and then sent her back to us. They both slowly got into their carseats, taking their time in leaving. I silently vowed that we would come back soon under better circumstances.

The car ride was quiet except for Ambrosia and William chattering about their time at the beach. I tried to concentrate on their stories, but my mind kept wandering as I grew angrier and angrier with the way that Jacob had treated me. I began contemplating different attack methods for getting revenge on Jacob before kicking him to the curb.

I debated simply walking in and giving him an overdose of morphine, but that seemed like a bit of a waste of medicine. I thought that if I wanted him gone quickly, I could just inject him with some venom. Surely, someone would offer, wouldn't they? I could be more theatrical. I would wait until he woke up; make him feel the pain as he died. Should I ask him to explain, make him think that I could forgive him, then tear him to pieces – or just rip him up immediately?

Alice giggled quietly in the front seat as she saw the future that my ideas created. At the idea of venom she quickly jerked her head left to right. Apparently that idea wouldn't work out so well. Even though I fantasized about putting an immediate end to my problems, I knew that I would never be able to kill Jake. I would always love him, despite the hell that he put me through for the past several years. I could never take away my children's father without hurting them in the process. It was times like these that I hated imprinting. I would never be able to remove Jacob from my heart, no matter how badly I wanted to.

All too quickly we pulled into the drive to our house. Bella and I climbed the back deck that went straight to the second floor. I realized that I still didn't know what I planed on doing. Maybe I should just kick him out. I heard a menacing growl inside – Edward – he must have heard the combination of Alice and my thoughts. "Honey, if you want to talk with me before you go to him…" Bella asked before opening the door to the house.

We stepped into the house, listening for who else was around. "Actually, I was hoping I could stay in your room until he wakes up. I can't be in the same room with him right now."

Edward was on my other side, holding me by the elbow, he guided me towards their bedroom. "Of course, you can stay with us. I can't believe he did that to you." He spoke the last sentence through clenched teeth.

I put a hand on my mother as I sent a message to both my parents. I knew that Dad would be able to see it as I thought it. I showed them holding Jacob up against a wall as he told his side of the story, only to have his "man hood" ripped off. "Gotta say, Ness. I know I've wanted to do that before, in another life time – but I would be more than happy to hold him while you have the honor." She smiled vindictively.

"Um, Ness. Bella, Edward?" Alice addressed us individually. "Hammer down your plans, because Jacob is waking up in fourteen hours." I looked at my watch. It was 7:27 PM. He would be awake by 10 the next morning.

Bella, Edward, and Alice looked at me comfortingly. I could feel the heartless mask reattaching itself to my face. I wouldn't let him see me hurt. I wouldn't let him know what he did to me today. I wouldn't let him see me cry.


	21. The Way Things Roll

**A/N: Okay, this is the last chapter and then maybe an epilogue. It isn't written yet, so...don't go crazy if there isn't one. Show me the love. I would really love it if everyone who has been reading my story and not reviewing would throw me at least a little line here. It would really make my day...and you will feel good about it...kind of like helping an old lady across the street.**

**But not really.  
**

**Chapter Twenty One : The way things roll  
**

I sat by his bed, refusing to let emotions sneak across my face. I didn't think, I didn't move, I barely even breathed. I could see him stirring, and I was surprised at the relief that I felt as he was waking up. Some part of my would always love him and care about him. I pushed the instant emotion away – putting my face back on.

"Ness? You here?" Jacob's eyelids fluttered, then he stared blankly at the ceiling above our bed.

I fought with myself before I spoke. Part of me wanted to reach out and hold his hand, the other part wanted to rip that hand off. "Yes, Jacob. I am here." I managed to make my voice match my emotionless face.

"Is Will? Is…he okay?" He stammered a little as if he was afraid of the answer. His head turned to me and I finally got to look into those deep brown eyes again. I felt my heart stutter in my chest, and prayed that he couldn't hear it. _Traitor_. Two little worry lines creased his face between his brows. It took all of my will power to keep my right hand from reaching out and smoothing them. _He cheated! He has another child that you never knew about. He isn't a first time parent like you thought._ I internally shouted at that stupid hand.

"William is fine." I reassured him, "However, I cannot say the same for you." I needed to say it out loud before I changed my mind. If I didn't, I would end up on that bed with him in an instant, kissing him to erase every thought I had about losing him that terrifying day. I had my game face on, but the rest of me wasn't caught up yet.

"What's wrong? Oh, my leg..." He reached down to feel the stub that wasn't a stub. "What…?"

"Jacob, physically you are fine." I rolled my eyes, and then added, "For now."

Carlisle entered the room with his black bag in hand. "Jacob, Renesmee." He addressed us. "I'm just going to check you over. Let me know if you feel any pain." He helped Jacob sit up on the edge of the bed. He listened to his heartbeat and tested his reflexes. He poked and prodded his fingers, toes, and knee where it was torn off. "Jacob, you seem to have healed perfectly. I'll leave you two alone."

Jacob thanked Carlisle as he left the room, then turned to face me. His face was distorted with confusion. I kept my face hard. "We need to discuss Leah." I began. I felt my face flinch at her name. "You didn't tell me the whole story, Jacob. That was a big mistake."

"Ness, what are you talking about. That was years ago. I thought we were passed all of that. I came to tell you, but you knew everything. I can't believe that you would still…" He shook his head disbelieving. When he was attacked, everything was wonderful with our family. I was sure that his shock at the changes was _almost_ as lift altering as the shock that I felt yesterday.

I cut him off before he could finish his sentence. "Billy was calling for you everyday." I started in on the story. I wanted to draw this out for him. Make him worry about how this conversation was going to end. At the moment _I_ wasn't even sure how it would end. "Mom convinced me that I should go to La Push. It had been so long since he had seen me, and the twins wanted to see him."

Jacob smiled. "I'll bet he was surprised at them."

"Don't interrupt." I reprimanded harshly. "As I was saying…" I glared at him. His mouth made a strange "o". "…I took Ambrosia and William down to La Push. We were going to spend the night with Billy so the twins could spend some extra time with him…they grow so fast, you know.

"William 'phased' using his gift." I didn't know how else to explain what he did. Jacob smiled at my phrase, he liked that I gave him credit for William's gift. "He broke a soap dish in the bathroom. By the time I came back out, Billy had called the old pack and their families together. Edward saw that Priscilla was traveling in a coven headed in the direction of La Push, and we all thought that they should know about it.

"I told them what happened to you, then some of the wives made lunch for everyone. Leah, Daniel, and her _son_…" I glared at him when I said son. He winced, perhaps sensing where this was going. "…JJ came into the room and asked his _grandpa_ if he could spend the night." I stopped my story there. No need for him to see how he had hurt me again. I held my tough face as I demanded an explanation, "Explain, Jacob. Did you really think that you could keep this from me? That I would never go to La Push again?" My voice rose as my anger increased.

"Renesmee, baby." He reached out for my hand, but I leaned away. "You've known all this. I thought that you of all people would understand."

_Oh, so now he's bringing up my infidelity as well!?_ "Don't even go there, Jacob. That isn't the same." I leaned into him, resting my hand on his. I sent him the image that I had sent my mother yesterday upon our return home. "Mom, Dad, come on in."

He jumped away from me, pressing himself against the furthest wall. "WHAT? Are you crazy!?" He screamed, frantically.

"You are making this easier. So eager that you press yourself against the very wall that I want you on?" My voice was light, teasing; I knew it would come off threateningly. Bella grabbed one of his arms and Edward the other.

"Are you sure about this, Ness?" Bella cautioned, warily.

"It wasn't until he said I should understand. I was contemplating up to that point, but now I am sure." I nodded seriously. "Jacob, before anything happens, I want to know everything. The whole truth."

He nodded, accepting my terms. He was taking his death sentence well. "One day in La Push, on a visit, Leah approached me with a proposition. I never thought that we would have children, to tell the truth, I wasn't sure that we were going to make it." His face contorted in a grimace. "I should have told you from the beginning. No, I take that back, I should have asked." I felt my face slide into confusion, but I didn't interrupt.

_What was he going to ask? 'Honey, is it okay if I go sleep with someone else…someone that you hate?_

"I agreed. If I could give her a little peace, I was willing."_A little PIECE?_ I felt a snarl grow in my throat. "Um…so, every few months I would go back to La Push. Things weren't working, and I told her that I wasn't going to do things anymore." He paused, hoping that his decision to stop would change my mood. "So, we went to the doctors so he could do the test. I was going to tell her after the appointment, but then the doctor said that the treatments worked. That she was pregnant." He blew his breath out at the end of his explanation waiting for the word to execute him.

"What do you mean the _treatments_ worked?" Confusion was an understatement. They were _trying_ to get pregnant?

"The In Vitro…" He raised an eyebrow, and smiled. Thankful that I wasn't immediately ripping him to shreds. "Ness, she didn't think she was going to imprint. She wanted a baby; she wanted to pass on the werewolf gene. She didn't know who else to ask. We were almost friends while she ran with my pack."

I gasped in relief as the pieces fit together. Of course! "So…you didn't have an affair?" I questioned, still not sure that he hadn't – old grudges die hard.

"_What?_ You thought I cheated!" He was hurt. "I can't believe that you would think that!"

"What was I supposed to think! You were regretting not telling me about you and Leah…"

"Yes, because I should have talked it over with you. I was afraid you would be angry, but I swear Leah didn't want me to be a father. She just wanted the baby. I tried to help her, but she didn't want it."

I pushed my parents out of the way as I launched myself at him. He cowered, but didn't fight me off. I planted a kiss square on his mouth. I heard my parents slip out the door. "Jacob, all these years…of trouble…for nothing." I spoke in between kisses. I was so happy that I had been wrong.

"Ness. Don't worry about the past. We have always belonged together – nothing can change that. I love you."

"Almost as much as I love you." I breathed into his ear.

He purred against his neck. The rest of the world disappeared, everyone else no longer existed, the room blurred around Jacob. We fell onto the bed, to make up for the years of miscommunication. "I have forever to prove you wrong."


	22. Epilogue: Your Forever

**Here you go ladies and gents, the end of my story and also the beginning. Because the ending of one person's story simply is the beginning of someone elses. There will most likely not be a sequel, thank you for reading!**

** Epilogue: Your Forever**

"Oh God" The words slipped out of my mouth as I made the turn towards Will's room. As much as I liked shopping with Alice, it was twice as nice to come home afterwards. We lived separately from the rest of my family in a little town in Virginia called Goshen three years ago. The public story was that Jacob and I are in our middle Twenties and wanted to give back to the community because we are both orphans so we took in Ambrosia and William. They had started high school as ninth graders despite their physical age being closer to twenty. We had just celebrated the 17 anniversary of their birth a few days ago, and Alice insisted she would stay longer so we could go shopping after everyone else left.

The majority of the rest of the family had taken up residence somewhere in British Columbia for a while. "William Patrick Black!" My 'Mom voice' bubbled up involuntarily as I took in the scene before me. The bag of clothes from my shopping trip with Alice fell to the floor, spilling the soft cottons and denim onto the soiled floor. Alice was at my side in a second, expecting some enemy attacking.

"MY EYES!" Alice threw both her hands over her face and shook her dark hair side to side. She was trying extensions, and still got a thrill out of her hair flying around her face.

I however, was stuck with my eyes wide staring at my…_my teenage son_…and his girlfriend. "MOM!" William was incredulous, and began pulling his dark blue comforter up over him and Scarlett. She tilted her head down, attempting to cover her dark blush with her long penny colored tresses. I had a momentary flashback to my _own_ mother bursting in my room and finding me in a similar situation with Jacob nearly thirty years ago. William glared at me, waving his arms in a way that suggested that I should shut his door. _Yeah right, buddy._

"Hello, Scarlett." I spoke as calmly and friendly I could to this girl, given the awkward situation. She nodded slightly in response. My gaze fell back on Will, lord knows that he probably initiated this. "William, I expect you both dressed and in the living room in 15 minutes." With that I turned and walked out of the room, leaving his new clothes splayed across his floor. Alice peeked through her fingers at me with her mouth hanging open. I snorted a giggle.

"Pshew" Alice wiped her forehead dramatically with the back of her hand. "Geez, Mom." She rolled her eyes. "You don't believe in teenage pregnancy?" She raised her eyebrows at me and laughed quietly as we made our way to my bedroom, quickly hanging up and putting away my new treasures (her words, not mine). "You want me with you?" Alice asked, finally seeing the seriousness of the situation.

"Uh…" I was thinking about what would be more effective when Ambrosia danced in the room, much the way that Alice does. The weather was nice, and she could finally wear the cute red-striped halter top and khaki shorts that she bought when we went to Hawaii. It was easier for us to blend in with humans, due to the light shimmering that we both did in the sun. She had small pieces of our whole family in her personality, and many of my physical characteristics. She kept her straight, bronze hair slightly longer than shoulder length. Her eyes had taken on a lighter brown color, deep set like her father's. She had Jacob's strong chin and wit, and my compassion.

"Hi, Mom!" She bit her lip as if she was nervous about something, but her eyes were sparkling with excitement. "I heard you finally caught little Willy and Madame Scarlett?" She chewed on that lip harder and cocked her head to the side…_like she was really worried…_ I rolled my eyes at her behavior.

"How long have you known." It wasn't a question.

"Hm…" She tapped her forefinger against her chin and rolled her eyes back, feigning deep thought, "about two months." Her lips curled up into the smile that had wanted to play on them since she walked in.

"Are you…" _How do I word this?_ "seeing anyone from school, too?" I wanted to sink into the floor, praying she would say 'no'.

"Mom…you've met Michael." She raised her eyebrows and leaned her head foreward, expecting me to know what meeting her best friend had to do with this situation.

"Yes…." I drug the end of the word out.

"I like him." She shrugged nonchalantly, but the fire in her eyes was extinguished. "He doesn't like me, you know that."

"Baby, boys are stupid." I hugged her to me, sad that she had to go through the pain of unrequited affections. "Just look at your brother." She laughed at that, ducking out of my grasp and skipping back to her room.

_Time to face the music, _I thought, stepping out into the living room alone. The words that greeted me were not what I expected to hear. "Mrs. Black?" Scarlett looked up at me from under her lashes before looking back to the floor. I nodded, even though she couldn't see me. "I'm in love with Will, and I know that you are different…than others." I gasped, wondering how she had figured this out. "When I'm around Edward, I can hear what people are thinking. When I'm around you and touch someone, they can hear my thought. When I'm around Alice, I see things that haven't happened yet." She met my eyes again. "I've never come across a whole family of people with gifts, and well…I want to know more."

"What do you know already?" I glared at William, knowing that he must have let something slip. He pouted, sinking into Scarlett's side again. She was so brave and confident.

"I know that you are his real Mom, and Edward and Bella are your real parents." Her eyes were confident in the truth, asking me to confirm it.

I sighed, realizing that as long as the family line continued, we would keep creating someone for our children to be with. William was so content with Scarlett; I could see them together for a very long time. Once Ambrosia found her true mate, I would want the same for her. "I think you will be a good addition to our family, but first we need to go over everything that it entails, including sacrifices you would have to make in your life."

She smiled widely, wrapping her arms around William's arms. "I'm ready."

© 2009 Amber Gibson


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